Companion's Choosing
by Pepperberry
Summary: Alicia lived in a different realm and was living a perfectly normal life. Normal that is until she found an escaped horse. Now a new world awaits her. Can she survive? Rated T for now. Please R&R.
1. Sleepless Nights

Alright, for those of you that are trying to keep up with my other story, 'It Came from Beyond the Asteroid Belt', my PPG fanfiction.. I'm not giving up on that. I'm taking a break from it, as I've gotten writers block in it. I started the next chapter, but I've totally gone blank. So now I decided to start something different in the meanwhile and hopefully get my creative juices flowing enough that I might be able to continue it.

Anyway, this story is, obviously, based on Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar. I have pretty much every novel that came out (including some others of hers that I fell in love with), but this mostly taks place between the Heralds of Valdemar series (Arrows of the Queen, Arrows Flight, and Arrows Fall) and By The Sword (which of course came before the Mage Winds series). As much as I love the other books, I haven't read them as many times that I've read the Heralds of Valdemar series (I must've read those books about 50 times each), so I'm mostly familiar of the characters as they are in that point of time. -scratches head- I think I've said everything that I needed to say. So I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1-

Alicia figured that she had sat around her living room long enough now. _Her_ living room. That was a hard thing for her to believe. Alicia was 21 years old, and just moved into her own apartment. So far, this was a good year for her. She graduated from college in May with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry, she got a job for one of the major corporations, helping in the research and development team with their household cleaner producs, in June, and here it was, a month later, and she had just moved into her own place. It really didn't take her long to save up working for a big company like she was, but she wanted the right place. It was a nice little place too, a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment. She could even get a cat when she was ready to, but couldn't go much bigger than that, since her landlady wouldn't allow much bigger than one cat, but she could understand that. This was the finaly day of her moving process and her parents just left. They helped her to finish moving her stuff in and while she and her mother was putting some things away, her father was nice enough to put her bed together, plus a small entertainment center for her bedroom and her desk for the living room. She got up and went over to her desk where all her computer parts were just sitting around and started to plug everything together. She already called the cable company and they were going to be coming by the next day to hook her up to cable TV and cable internet. She still had a whole day ahead of her before she would want to go to bed, so she would spend it unpacking.

_In Valdemar_

Corie had been wandering around Companion's Field for a few days now, almost like he was brooding on something. He was a young stallion, though not as young as some of the others that had already Chosen. He was the age equivalent to a 21 or 22 year old human. It was odd for him not to have Chosen yet, though none of the other Companions ever commented on it. Lately though, he had been keeping to himself a lot more than normal and he would wander in circles. His thoughts were so filled with worry that some of the older Companions could hear him almost crystal clear. Two of these Companions were walking up to him now, their silver hooves gently beating in the grass as they slowly moved up behind him, not wanting to startle him. His ears swiveled and when he heard the hoofbeats of other Companions, he turned to look to him. He was seeing Rolan, the Queen's Own Companion, as well as Ahrodie, whose Chosen was the Queen's Own's husband. Rolan and Ahrodie were often seen romping together, almost even more since their Chosen Heralds fully acknowleged their lifebond. Rolan really was the Companion that took care of the herd, since the Monarch's Own Companion was the only one that was Grove Born. If he wasn't available, a lot of the Companions went to Ahrodie second, or if something needed to be taken care of, Rolan would trust Ahrodie to take care of it. In light of this, Rolan was, of course, the first to speak to Corie.

_:Corie, I must say that your thoughts are beginning to spread throughout the entire herd. Will you please tell us what is wrong, there may be a chance that we might be able to help you sort through your problems before your thoughts start to break though the shields of the strong Mindspeakers.:_

He snorted softly and then lowered his head in apology before answering him. _"Well, I'm ready to Choose." _Ahrodie flicked her tail a bit before she, as well, started to speak.

_:That is good news to hear, indeed. Why don't you go to the stables, get tacked up, and go out and pick the youngling up?: _They were both confused as to why he hadn't done this yet, in fact. Their answer came next almost instantly after Ahrodie finished speaking.

_:I don't know how. I know _who_ I want to Choose. I just don't know how to go to her.:_ The two Companions looked to each other with a bit of confusion in their sapphire blue eyes before Rolan looked back to him again.

_:How can you not know? It should be instinct when you're ready to pick up your Chosen.:_ Corie nodded a bit before starting to walk through Companion's Field, the other two following him just as slowly.

_:That's just it. I don't understand how, but it's almost like she's in... in another realm, if you will.:_ He stopped after saying that and looked to the two of them, seeing the surprised look in their eyes. They all stood silent for a time in the late afternoon sun.

_:That is odd,:_ Ahrodie said, finally. She looked to the two stallions for a moment before speaking again. :_I'm not sure what to tell you, Corie. That is an odd feeling to get. I'm not sure there's ever a time in our history that a Companion Chose someone that wasn't either in Valdemar or one of the bordering nations.:_ Rolan thought for a moment and looked to them.

_:There's only one thing that I can think of. I'll speak to Faya. Maybe he can ask Elcarth about the histories of past Choosings and maybe even find something else he can reference to to help out.:_ (Author's Note: I don't believe that in any of the Valdemar books I've read that Elcarth's Companion's name was ever mentioned, so I just made one up. If anyone finds something else, feel free to let me know and I'll change it.) Elcarth was the historian of the Herald's Collegium. He could usually find anything in that sea of books that he had in his office. And if he couldn't, he could usually meet with the Chronicaler and between the two of them, they could figure something out. Rolan started off into the Field for a moment while he spoke with Elcarth's Compantion. He would then, in turn, speak with his Chosen and hopefully an answer could be found. In the meantime, they left him alone again. Until Elcarth could come up with something there was nothing more they could do for him. Rolan just hoped that they could figure something out soon, else the one that would be Corie's Chosen could get herself into a lot of trouble with untrained Gifts.


	2. Worst day of the week?

Two days later, Elcarth was in conference with the Queen, Selenay, and the Queen's own, Herald Talia. All three of them were wearing their Whites. Every part of a Herald's uniform was white. That was the easiest way for the people of Valdemar, and even other countries, to recognize them. Though that could even cause them to become more of a target if they were in enemy territory, or even out on circuit of their own lands against bandits or other problem groups. Selenay and Talia sat quietly for the time while Elcarth explained what he had been doing for the last two days every chance he got, as well as explaining why. When he finally stopped and looked to the two females, it was Selenay that answered first. "So you're telling us that the Companion Corie is ready to Chose, but the reason he hasn't left yet is because his potential Chosen in another realm?" Elcarth nodded to that.

"Yes, Majesty, that's exactly it. Rolan communicated with my own Companion, who had in turn, asked me to do this favor. He actually asked me almost with venom behind it. It appears that the young Corie has been worried about this day and night for the last week and it's starting to push into the heads of the other Companions in the herd, including my own Faya and even your Caryo, Majesty." He watched Selenay nod at that.

"I remember Caryo mentioning something about a youngester not getting enough sleep before. I just didn't realize who it was or why." Talia kept quiet while the two of them discussed this. She had, in the mean time, touched with Rolan's mind. Unfortuantely for her, she had little to no ability to Mindspeak, even with her Companion. When they wanted to 'talk' to each other, they had to go by each other's feelings. And right now, Rolan was feeling worried for Corie and his possible Chosen, but also apprehension about this whole idea of the Chosen being from another realm. She, unfortunately, had to agree. She broke out of the torpor when she heard Selenay speak again. "Well, Elcarth, what can you do for him? Have you come up with anything?" He nodded, to both of their surprise.

"Actually, Majesty, I think I might be able to help him. I did come across something from around Herald Vanyel's time. As you are aware, the mages used to travel great distances using something called gates." He paused and saw them both nodding. This was from some of the history lessons that they had to take at the Collegium. "Well, anyway, there was also mentioned that another gate was possible to form. One that led to another realm, if you will. Some place that no one had ever been to. Only one mage went through that and he never returned. There is the slightest possibility, from what I've read, that we might be able to open it, and if it leads to the correct realm, Corie can go through, pick his Chosen up, and return." Before Selenay had a chance to object, Talia did.

"But how can we open something like that up? We have no mages anymore. The only magic we have left is the Truth Spell. How's that going to help?" Elcarth smiled a bit and looked to her.

"My dear Talia. Haven't you ever wondered how your own Companion came to be?" She had to think about that for no more than a minute before she almost responded that he was Grove born. But then she had to stop before speaking and think about that. He was Grove born. The Monarch's Own Companion was the only one that was always born of the Grove where Baron Valdemar first was Chosen along with his son. That meant that there had to be some kind of magic behind it. She suddenly felt Rolan's gentle touch of congratulations in the back of her mind as Elcarth continued to the both of them. "I have a feeling that Rolan might be able to hold open the gate. If we can see if some of our Companions are willing to back him as anchors to the real world, I believe that it is possible. As for the location, the only place that I can think of is the ruins near the belltower. Since the Death Bell rings automatically as soon as we lose one of our own, it's best to believe that there's some magic behind there as well." Talia hated the idea of working something this dangerous near something that represents the losing of a Herald, but this was up to the Queen, after all. Selenay sat there in silence for a time before nodding to Elcarth.

"Very well, I give my permission to attempt this. I just hope, for the sake of all concerned, that nothing goes wrong." Elcarth nodded and stood up immediately, giving her a small bow before leaving the room to take care of the preparations. Selenay then looked to Talia with a questioning look. "What do you think?" Talia sighed.

"I'm not sure. Rolan's worried about this girl that Corie wants to Choose. To be honest, so am I. We know nothing of this realm that he wants to go into. What happens if he brings back someone that could turn out to be a danger to us or even Valdemar." Selenay nodded her agreement, before thinking.

"I agree with you, but we also have to remind ourselves of this one thing: Companions don't Choose wrongly."

_Back in "the other realm"_

_Monday, and back to work for me._ Alicia thought to herself as she pulled into the huge parking lot of the company's factory. Most people hated going to work, especially on Monday, but she loved it. She was probably one of the few in the entire country that enjoyed going to work. She put her Explorer into park and got out of the car. She walked up to the front of the building and went in with a few other people. She headed up to the second floor where the R&D department was located and went into the lounge to put her purse and her lunch in her locker and grab her white coat. She closed her eyes, her head throbbing a little bit, as she put her hand on her temple to massage it a little bit. When she looked down to her other hand, her coat was in her hand. Odd, since she hadn't even reached into her locker to grab it yet. One of her coworkers was looking at her with some concern in his eyes, but she just shook her head and pushed it to the back of her mind. She closed the locker up and then put the coat on and headed into the lab to see what was going on today. Those things have been getting stranger in the last year or so. Two things, actually. One of them was that it was almost like she was grabbing things without even reaching for them, and the other was as if she could read people's minds. She knew that neither was possible, but she had no explanation as to why they were happening to her. On Friday, as a matter of fact, when she and her mother went grocery shopping, she had items in her cart that she hadn't even picked off the shelf, but she did want them. Anytime this happened, it gave her a headache to deal with that no amount of medicine could fix. Today, by the time she got into the lab, her head wasn't aching anymore and she was able to get to work. It was at that moment that her coworker, Allan, came up to her. "Are you feeling alright, Alicia?" She nodded to him.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just a little tired still. I was up later than I wanted to be last night unpacking and putting things away in my new apartment. I just didn't get enough sleep is all." He nodded, but with concern behind his eyes. Alicia liked him. He was sweet and kind and had only been working here for about six months before she got here. He helped her out a lot and it did seem that he liked her in return. She smiled a bit at the possible outcomes and just went about to her work.

The end of the day couldn't come sooner for Alicia. She hated to admit it, but she was definitely ready to go home. She just wanted to take a hot bath, lay down in her bed with some soft music playing in the background, and a cold washcloth on her head. She had gone to the doctors a couple times for these odd headaches, but they simply chocked it up to stress. It was extremely hard work to be a biochemistry major after all. Just like any other natural science based majors. And her college had been a competitive one. Now she just figured it had to be because of work. When the prescription medications didn't work, she gave up and just took to relaxing. Usually that helped her out. She just got her purse and her lunch bag out of her locker and walked out to car. She stopped when she heard someone calling her name. She turned to see Allan, smiling to him as he walked over to him. "I know you've been tired lately. I mean with moving and all, but I was wondering if you wanted to go out to eat after work on Friday. Nothing fancy... maybe the pizza parlor or something like that?" She blushed and smiled, forgetting about her headache and nodded a bit to him.

"Sure.. I would love to." He smiled back and nodded before turning and heading to his own car. She almost fainted. Her first somewhat real date. She would have to go and call her girlfriends for sure now. It's been since High School since they all had something to chatter about. She got into her car and started it up, her head still throbbing, but her mood raised slightly. _And who says that Monday is always the worst day of the week?_


	3. Welcome Home

_:Alright, Corie. We're ready to try now,: _Rolan started._ :Remember, I'm not sure how long I can keep the gate open. We've never tried anything like this before. Even with the others backing me, something could still happen. You need to find your Chosen and get her back here as quickly as you can.: _Corie threw his head in a nod-like fashion and Rolan prepared himself. Watching was Queen Selenay, Talia, Elcarth, Herald Teren,-who was Dean of the Collegium and therefore the best to calm a more than likely frightened person, no matter the age- Herald Keren,-Teren's twin sister and the one that would take care of Rolan or any of the other Companions during this- and Herald Dirk-who was Talia's lifemate and husband, as well as Ahrodie's Chosen. She was one of the Companions supporting Rolan, so he wanted to be with her. The other reason was that then he and Teren, after possibly calming a scared person, could help to get her set up in the Collegium. The Companions that were there to back Rolan up was, of course, Ahrodie, but also Selenay's Caryo, Keren's Dantris, Kantor-who was Companion to the Weaponsmater, Cymry-who was Companion to one of the other Heralds, Talia's blood-brother, Skif, and Elcarth's Faya. The Heralds all were warned that their Companions were going to be extremely weak for at least a week after this project. What the effect on Corie will be, no one really knew, but Keren was prepared for anything.

Rolan and the Companions took some time to prepare, but before anyone knew it, there was soon a gate open in front of them. It was a hole in the air that seemed to be cut apart by what looked like lightning. It was amazing to the Heralds to witness since the last Mage in the Herald's history was Herald-Mage Vanyel. And that was during the reigns of Elspeth the Peacemaker and of Randale. Corie was swift and immediately ran through the passage way. The Heralds just continued to watch in amazement. The Companions just kept up their work, hoping that he was fast.

_On the other side of the gate_

Corie didn't know what to make of this entire scene. It was very much like Haven, but then again.. it wasn't. There were tall buildings all around him, some taller than even the tallest buildings in the capital. The streets were covered with something that wasn't dirt or stones. It was almost like the road leading north out of Haven. Very grey, but very hard. He clomped his hoof on it a bit, his hoof ringing out like a bell as he did. He continued to look around as he started to walk forward. Once he got his bearings, he would be able to go pick his Chosen up. He got very strange looks fom the natives of this strange land. Almost if they've never seen a Companion before. He stopped and looked around and realized that they hadn't seen a Companion before. There were wagons even stopping on the street to watch him. But these weren't wagons like he had ever seen before. There were no horses, mules, or oxen pulling them, and they were covered. The human sitting in their chosen wagon. He couldn't see in them, but he wondered how they were controlled to go where the humans wanted to go. He just remembered Rolan's words about being swift. He started off at a fast gallop, his hoofs bell-ringing on the strange road beneath him. He had gotten his bearings and knew exactly where to go now.

Alicia was on her way to work that morning. She had the radio on and was actually laughing slightly at the reports of a horse loose in the middle of the city. "The poor thing," she muttered to herself. "He probably escaped from a horse trailer or something like that." She just drove on to work, really looking forward to it that day. But not because she enjoyed her job, which she did, but because she would be seeing Allan again. Since his invitation the day before, she had been actually preening herself in the mirror before leaving her apartment, hoping to look good as to keep catching his eye. She didn't think that she would have to, but hey, insurance is good to have, right? She pulled into the parking lot and got out of her car, looking around. She knew what Allan drove, but it didn't look like he was here yet. He did occasionally get here after her, so this wasn't a surprise. She locked and closed the door behind her and then turned to walk to the building before stopping dead in her tracks. She saw the horse that the news reported on. It had to be him. He was white, just like the reports had said. She blinked a bit and looked around some before looking back to the horse. She wasn't sure what to do, at first, so she reached into her purse and grabbed her cell to call the animal shelter that she heard was on the case. Before she dialed again, she looked up to him again. He had moved towards her and he made the strangest sounds. His hooves made sounds like bells. Very strange indeed. She was about to hit the call button on her phone before the horse had moved up to her and gently pushed his muzzle into her shoulder and whuffed into her hair, almost lovingly. She was surprised by this, but almost screamed and ran at what happened next. There, in the back of her mind, sounded like a voice. _:I Choose you. You're the one I've been trying to get to for almost two weeks, my Chosen.:_

She backed up a bit as she watched the horse in shock. She looked around, hearing sirens. The cops. Someone must've seen him and called the police. Which meant they would be coming to keep the horse in place while the people from the shelter came to take care of him and find his owners. The horse looked up and looked around as the cops surrounded them. They got out and one of them had what looked like a tranquilizer gun, just in case he started to try and kick or anything. She looked around as well, before jumping and looking back to the horse as he once more 'spoke' in the back of her mind. _:Get on, Chosen. We need to get out of here and back to the gate before we're both trapped in this realm.:_ Now she was really confused. She just watched him before finally looking into those beautiful blue eyes. She bit her lip and dropped her purse and clumsily climbed onto his back. She didn't know why she was doing it, since she didn't even know how to ride. _:That's alright, love. You don't need to know how. Just hold onto my mane for now, I'll do the rest.:_

This horse was just full of surprises! How did he know what she was saying?! Tentively, she spoke to him before he started to run. "How do you know what I'm thinking?" He looked back at her with what she figured was an amused expression on his face.

_:We're Chosen and Companion. We have a tight bond. Duck down so that there is little wind resitance. All your questions will be answered when we're back home.:_ Home? He was taking her to her apartment? Without warning, the horse, no Companion, he said, started out at a full gallop, jumping to avoid the shots of the tranquilizer guns and then jumping once more to vault the cop cars. She turned a bit to watch as they sped away. She had no idea how he could run so fast. At least, she didn't realize horses _could_ run this fast. There was no more talking from him as he wove in and out of cars, his sides heaving as he panted heavily.

Corie ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Companions were faster and stronger than horses were, but even they had thier limits. Even though he could get them back to where the gate dropped him off at, he would need food and rest for almost as long as the Companions on the other side. It helped that his charge didn't weigh that much. She was also smart in heeding his warning about ducking down. That kept down the wind and he was able to move faster. He dodged the guardsmen that held those odd swords. He wasn't sure what they were, but it was kind of loud. Whatever they shot at him, he was able to easily dodge it. Now he had to avoid all these strange wagons as well. He couldn't afford to get hit by one and get a broken leg or something. He was almost there. He reached out his mind to the Companions on the other side. He could almost feel them opening up to him. He was almost to the gate. He vaulted the bottom of the gate as it started to shrink and then they both rolled, his Chosen falling off him and rolling with him, into the middle of what felt like a vegetable patch.

He lifted his head and looked around slowly, wincing a bit at the pain as he tried to stand up. The farmers were angry at first, but then quickly ran to him when they realized what was in the middle of their vegetables. One of the girls ran to him and helped him to the road, checked his body for wounds and gave him some grain and water when they realized how tired he was, speaking to him as if he was human. He knew that they were back home. When he looked around, he realized that poor Rolan must've lost his grip on the gate. Even though they were back, they ended up someplace that wasn't the ruins. He stood still for a moment to send a message to the nearest Companion. When he felt it reached, he knew it would be passed till it reached Haven and one of the other Companions that were in the group with the ruins.

He moved over to the girl that was being fussed over by the farmer's wife.. mentioning something about Companions and trying to scare the daylights out of their newly Chosen. The woman backed up though at looking the girl over. She was different, that was for sure. The girl was wearing some strange clothing and smelt of something that wasn't quite sweat or road dirt, but something stronger. Like a fragrance, but different. A scent that she couldn't put her finger on. The girl limped forward a little bit as she looked around at her surroundings. She was scared out of her wits, but at least she was safe. She looked to him and he nuzzled her neck and into her hair a little bit. _:Welcome home, Chosen.:_


	4. Welcome to Haven

Alicia just stood there, mostly in shock at what was going on. Between the voice in her mind, the horse knowing exactly where he was going and the woman backing up when she helped her up, it was just too much for her! She looked around, realizing she was standing in the middle of someone's garden. "Oh! Excuse me, ma'am. I didn't realize I was in your vegetables." The woman stared at her as if she had just grown two heads. The two girls and the little boy did as well as the older man. She looked between all of them and the horse whickered and walked up to her a bit.

_:My apologies, dearest. I forgot that you can't speak Valdemaran. I can give you a little knowledge so that you can ask them what village we're in. They'll just assume that something happened and we tumbled out of the forest. Which we kind of did. I think I know abouts where we are, but I just want to make sure.:_ He then did something to her, which made her feel quite lightheaded, but when he was done, there was something different about her. She knew some strange words that she didn't know before. She looked to the family again and repeated what she said, though it was done in a different language! The woman nodded a bit and then she cleared her throat again, gently.

"Please. Can you tell me.. um.. us... what village we're in? We just got a bit.. umm... misdirected." She hoped that would work. The family relaxed a little bit and the man nodded slightly, walking up to the two of them as the Companion looked around.

"Of course, Miss. Ye be in the village of Shonen. That be just east of the town of Trevale." She nodded and looked to the Companion who whickered and nudged her to get back on his back so they could be off. He had thought he was near Trevale, but just wanted to be sure. He wasn't too well-traveled, yet, after all. She did and she smiled to the family.

"Thank you. Thanks for your help." They then started off and she sighed a bit, rubbing her head. "What in the world. Ok, Alicia, calm down. You were in your car, going to work, when you found the escaped horse." Her thoughts were interuppted by that 'voice' in the back of her mind again.

_:Companion, dear. And in case you were too frightened to sense my name after you looked into my eyes, my name is Corie. Though I believe that you haven't opened up to me yet, since you _were_ more frightened than I hoped you would be.:_

She just sat there in silence as she listened to him and then went about trying to figure things out for herself. "Ok. You were going to work when you found the.. uh... Companion staring at you. He talked to you, you listened for some god-forsaking reason, got on his back and he rode you out to the country-side. But there is no country anywhere near where I live. Not for miles at least. In the next county actually. So how in the world, did you get here?" She sat in silence for a moment, but then finally reasoned it out to herself. "I have no idea." She heard a sound coming from the Companion and in the back of her mind it even sounded like a chuckle.

_:Of course you have no idea. You're from another realm.. Well.. At least another realm as we see it. But this is real. You're not dreaming or whatever else your brain is thinking up. Unfortunately, I can't give you too many details, even if I _am_ your Companion. That's in the hands of Heralds Teren and Dirk when we get you back to Haven.:_ He paused and collected his thoughts as he moved along. _:We're going to stop at the first Waystation that we find. I know it's not quite dark, but everyone'll figure out where we are from where I sent the message. They'll know not to expect us back right away. Besides. I'm tired from that running I just had to do and I need to rest. I'm sure you need something to eat as well.:_ She knew he was right. She was hungry. She wasn't sure what time it was, but she did skip breakfast this morning. They were both quiet now as Corie continued to move up the dusty road. Soon though, he found what he was looking for, and it was going to be nightfall soon, so it workd out pretty good.

Alicia looked up and noticed that she was looking at a log cabin. The roof was thatched, so she figured that their weather must be calm here, otherwise it would seem like that roof would just blow right off. She looked down as the Companion stopped and she slowly slid off him, wincing a little as she did. He nuzzled her again and looked to her. _:I'm sorry that you had to ride without a saddle, Chosen, but I was in a bit of a hurry this morning when the others were preparing for me to pick you up. I didn't have time for the stable hands to tack me up.:_ She was sore, but she felt that she couldn't be mad at him. She smiled a bit and then rubbed her hand along his muzzle.

"That's alright. I'm not used to riding anyway. Then again.. I've never ridden." She shrugged a bit and then looked to the building. He nudged her in the back with his nose and she moved forward, starting to open the door. She noticed it was empty so she walked in and looked around. She frowned and looked to Corie as he stuck his head into the door and gave another chuckle to the back of her mind.

_:I'm sorry, love. In that box over on that wall over by the bed, there's some towels and a brush. Do me a huge favor and dry the sweat off me and then brush me off. That's to get all this dirt off me since we ended up plowing into that poor farmer's field.:_ She nodded and did just that, grabbing the towels and then towelling him off really good so that he was bone dry. She then used the brush to brush him clean of the dry dust. She had to giggle at him probing into her mind to tell her where to brush and get the itches out of his body. She then put them back in the box and then noticed that in another box was a couple of buckets. She looked to him and he threw his head in a nod and she smiled. She found the grain and filled one bucket full, leaving it next to him as he dug his nose into it and started to eat. She grabbed a couple more buckets and then walked to the stream she saw next to the cabin and filled them both. She left one with him, which he immediately started to slurp from, since he was too tired to even move another step. She used the other one to wash herself up. She searched the cabin and found some fruit that had been preserved. Withered apples, mostly, but she ate them. She was hungry, but she felt that if she ate too much, then she would be sick. She looked over to Corie and noticed that he had fallen asleep, laying in the cool grass. She felt bad for him, but then realized that she was tired and headed into the cabin, and just fell into the bed and falling asleep.

The next couple of days was like that, and by nearly the end of the week, Corie was back up to his full strength and was moving at a normal pace. He figured they would be able to reach Haven by the time the dinner bell rang at the Collegia. His Chosen had been quiet, only asking a few questions here and there, but he had expected that. But she surprised him when she finally did speak up to him. "How did you get me to understand and speak the other language?" He turned to look to her with those beautiful blue eyes and she smiled at him while he turned to look forward again and answered her.

_:It was merely me just putting some information in your head. Well.. let me put it this way. You don't know how to shield yet. So I basically entered your mind and just put the language there, but I was still shielding you from anything else at the moment, so that it wasn't broken. You didn't actually know the language, except for those few moments. When we get to Haven, you'll have to be taught the language. I'll assume that they'll work on you right away to at least get your Valdemaran sketchy at best, and then explain what you'll be doing, and finally giving you a tutor to help you with the rest of it.:_ She just nodded at the answer and then continued to think. She had found another question lagging in her head.

"I'm gonna take a wild stab at this. But all those weird things that I can do.. is that connected with you. I mean. I could grab things without actually reaching for them. And I could hear people's thoughts." He thought about that before answering her.

_:That's right. The reading the people's thoughts thing is connected with your Mindspeech. That's how I'm able to talk to you, and how I can 'read your mind' as you had put it the other day. If ever you want to have a conversation with me without anyone overhearing you, all you have to do is think it. You'll be taught how to shield on your own in time, but for now, I'm helping out, otherwise, you'd be getting a mess of thoughts from all over the place. The other thing you mentioned... grabbing things. It sounds like that's your Gift. To be more precise, it sounds like you're a Fetcher. You'll be taught how to use that, probably as soon as you can speak good, if not excellent Valdemaran.:_ This was all too weird for her, and they stopped a couple more times, once at a Waystation to eat and another time because nature was yelling at them. Soon, they came over a hill and she could see a huge walled city. She narrowed her eyes to get a bit of a better look and she could almost see what looked like some sort of castle with other buildings around it. She looked to Corie as he spoke to her again. _:Welcome to Haven, Chosen. The capital city of Valdemar.:_


	5. Pizza Induced Nightmare?

South of Valdemar, _very_ south of Valdemar, was a small country that none of the Heralds had ever been to. As a matter of fact, There were only a couple of other countries that the Heralds of Valdemar had been to. Rethwellan and Hardorn for example. This country laid below and east of the Dhorisha Plains. None of the Heralds of Valdemar would ever likely be down that far in their lifetimes. It was a small country that bordered Seejay and Ruven. Her people had never made any trouble for the countries around it, so it was hardly noticed even on a map. It was the country of Velvar. The population wasn't big, since a small country like this wouldn't be able to support a large number of citizens. It had a monarchy just like the other countries, and in this case, the monarch was a King. He was a young man, though not so much so that he was inexperienced. He was in his mid-thirties, and was just as ruthless as any of his predecessors. That was the reason that no one from any of the other countries ever bothered with Velvar. The monarchs might have behaven badly to their own people, but they never dared bother any of their neighbors since their armies were greater. The single good thing that came out of that is if they did decide to go after another country, they wouldn't know how they would act. This king, Belmear was his name, was different than his father or his grandfather. He didn't just want to remain in his palace in his little kingdom. He wanted more, but mostly he wanted more power.

Belmear, at the moment, was standing at one of the windows, the shutters wide open to allow the cool spring air into his room. He had his hands clasped behind his back as he looked out over the countryside. He was almost six feet tall, with black hair that was cut short to show off his green eyes. Most of the people of Velvar had straight, black hair. The only ones that look different are those that were brought in from other places, either through marriage or through slavery. He wore his black leather trews and a navy blue tunic. He didn't have anything to actually signify his position except for the gold crown on his head. There were no jewels on it that might have been on other crowns worn by other kings in the nearby kingdoms, but he didn't really know about them, anyway. The one thing he did know of was that the only country anywhere near him that was not ruled by a king was Valdemar. At least a nearby kingdom. This country was ruled by the graceful, and beautiful, Queen Selenay. The image of Selenay from his scriers had brought him out of a stupor and he demanded to know everything that his men could find out about her and her kingdom. That was why he was standing at his window now. He had gotten the reports from his men and was not pleased by what he heard. So this land was protected by some strange military known as Heralds was it? That would be a kink in his plans for Selenay and Valdemar, since he found out that more than once Heralds have thrown themselves in front of arrows and swords to protect their monarchs. He would just have to rethink his plan, that was all.

He turned to walk back to his cushy chair behind his huge wooden desk when he heard someone knocking on the door of his study. It wasn't his private one, so whomever wished a word with him was allowed, well, as long as he let them. "Come in!" Was all he had to say. He looked up to it after sitting down to see one of the guards opening it and allowing the visitor access to the room. He nodded at the man that entered. It was his head scrier and advisor, Darac. Belmear just sat at his desk quietly while Darac stepped forward to give his report.

"My lord," He said while bowing respectfully first, then continuing. "We have more information on Valdemar. It appears that there are guards throughout the nation, and in the most important places are they heavier. For example, along certain borders, namely the ones against Hardorn and Karse, and in the capital of Haven. The Heralds are another story, however. It appears that they are more thinly spread out. We scanned as far as we could and found the same thing everywhere. One or two of these Heralds along the major trade routes and maybe one stationed at a specific place somewhere along those trade routes. The largest conglomeration was in the capital, but even here there weren't too many of them. They apparently wear only white clothing and all of the Heralds we've Seen ride white horses. There is still much more that we could learn about them, but we would need to get our own people into the country first so that their range is much further and more accurate than what we have been doing thus far."

Belmear just listened patiently, taking in everyword before he motioned for Darac to sit in the chair that was opposite him. When he did, Belmear stroked his chin in thought for the moment, trying to figure out what to do about all of this. He nodded to himself then and looked to him. "Very well, Darac. But I want you to do it. For the simple fact that your ability is much stronger than any of the others. You can not only keep an eye on things, but you can relay messages back to the others so that they may report to me what is going on." Darac nodded slightly and thought to himself for a moment before speaking back to his king.

"As you wish, of course, my lord. But one question. How am I supposed to get into the country?" Belmear had to smile at that and then stood up and walked back to the window and looked out it again. His window faced in the general direction of Valdemar, so he just kept thinking that he was looking right into the heart and soul of the country itself.

"Simple, Darac. It's time we reached out a friendly hand to Valdemar. And when they take that hand, they will not be able to let go." He let it go at that and dismissed Darac to prepare for his trip and meanwhile, he would get a message sent out to the Queen. He would be able to get it to sound sincere enough that Belmear would not expect any resistance to him.

_Haven_

Corie trotted calmly through the gates of the palace and the Collegia. To his Chosen this was all surreal. He knew that the other Heralds would be able to explain everything to her, calm her, and get her situated into the Herald's Collegium. She might even be able to get her whites in record time, except for the fact that she knows nothing of the country, needs to learn the language, and needs to be trained in her gift. His Chosen just sat stiffly in the saddle as he moved in, suddenly being swarmed by those Heralds which would take care of her.

Alicia slowly slid out of the saddle and winced as she landed on the ground. She stood with her back against Corie as she watched the unfamiliar people walking to her. This was terrible. She was acting like she was twelve again, but when she was taken from her home and thrust into this new life with all these strange people, of course she would feel she needed to revert to being a child again. She watched as one of them, a woman, came and gently started to lead the Companion away from her. She frowned and watched as he left. _:Don't worry, Chosen,: _She heard in her mind. _:That was Herald Keren. She and her, umm... her friend Sherrill are the riding instructors. They're also the ones that take care of the un-paired Companions and also the ones that take care of the ones that have just returned from Choosing, while the others take care of the one that was Chosen. Fret not, though, love. We'll see each other shortly. I can guarantee that.: _She felt slightly better when he explained and then turned to look back towards the others again. There were two men standing there, both in white uniforms. She had to admit, they did look quite handsome in them, even though the one had the most homliest face she had ever seen. She then heard the little voice in the back of her mind again _:That's Herald Dirk. He's the orientation instructor. He'll also be the one to train you in your gift, since you have the Fetching gift.:_ She didn't respond, but looked to the one that spoke first. It was the older one.

"Welcome. I'm Herald Teren. I'm the Dean here at the Herald's Collegium, and this is Herald Dirk. He's the orientation instructor." She nodded slowly a bit, though not speaking. She figured she should have introduced herself, but had a feeling that Corie had done that for her. Her guess was confirmed when he spoke again. "We know that this may seem strange to you, Alicia, but please. You must remain calm and trust us. No one is going to hurt you here. You have been given a great oppertunity when Corie Chose you." She just walked with them as they explained what was going to happen while she was here. Apparently, she had to go through more schooling. She would be tested, first, to see what she knew. That way they would know where to place her. They walked through the doors of the Collegium and then into Herald Teren's office. There she sat quietly while he explained how things would work. So not only would she have to learn, she would have to share chores with the other Heraldic students as well. She sighed and sat back in the chair about an hour later as Teren asked her if there was any questions that she had. She just shook her head slowly, before thinking of one and then speaking up.

"I think someone might need to pinch me." When Teren tilted his head in obvious confusion, she finished her thought off. "Because I hope I'm having some sort of midnight pizza nightmare." Teren didn't respond to that, but rather just sat there, trying to figure out who would be the best mentor for her.


	6. First Friends

"And this is your room." Said the young lady that had been taking Alicia around the Collegium. What was her name again? Kayla? No, that wasn't it. Karla. That was it. It was odd, being shown around by someone who was younger than her. The girl was 17 and was apparently only a year away from getting her whites. She had to think about that one. That meant that those two men that met her when she got here were wearing the same uniform that she would be next year. For now, they had to wear something similiar, but only in a grey color. She looked around the room as they entered it and then sighed softly. This was going to take some getting used to. There was a bed, a dresser, closet, desk and chair. There were candles all over the place and a small fireplace. She bit her lip. She was definitely not going to get used to how these people live. She turned back to the girl when she speaks again. "When the waking bell rings, I'll come back for you and take you to breakfast. After that, you'll go to your orientation class and then we'll go around to see some of the other classes."

Alicia just nodded to her and she waved, leaving her alone. It wasn't late, maybe late afternoon, but not much later than that. She was free for the rest of the day. She knew shewouldn't be able to eat, she might end up getting sick from nervousness or something. She put the clothes away, except for one outfit and then changed into it. She surveyed herself in the mirror for a moment, before shaking her head. Grey really wasn't her color. She had to get a pair of boots out of storage for now, since she came in her sneakers until she's able to get the ones that she was measured for. When she changed, she opened her window and looked out, getting a decently warm breeze to come in. She smiled though and then looked to a fence in the distance. She saw something white there standing, almost looking towards her room. She knew who it was. She turned and left her room and, with help from her Companion, was able to navigate her way out of the Collegium and onto the grounds. When she was outside, she broke into a run and ran to the fence. When she got to it, she climbed up onto it and then hugged the Companion's neck.

_:How are you faring now?:_ asked the voice in the back of her mind. She smiled a little bit and then bit her lip as she climbed over the fence and then walked along side of him.

"Alright, I suppose. It's all really weird. I just graduated from college, and here I am taking more classes again. And I'm not even where I'm supposed to be." She sighs softly and her Companion spoke back to her with a worried sound in his mind voice.

_:Well, we can break the bond that you and I have, but I can tell you that those Chosen who have had their bonds with their Companions broken have gone mad and killed themselves over it. It's not an easy thing to bear for either the Chosen or Companion:_ He stopped and looked at her. The moment she looked into those gorgeous blue eyes, she shook her head, clinging to him a bit.

"I think I'll stick it out." She was rewarded with a nuzzle into her hair as they continued to walk through, what she learned to be called, Companion's Field. They finally stopped at a small lake and they settled down onto the grass. She leaned against him a bit as they sat there, not really talking, but just being together. Karla said that was most important in the beginnings of the bond between them. It must've seemed like an hour had passed before there was another sound of a horse behind them. She sat up and turned around and glanced over her shoulder to see a young man there with _his_ Companion. She blinked and sat up a bit more straight to look to him as he smiled to her.

"Hello. You must be the new one. My name is Aeren." She finally stood up, keeping next to her Companion as she looked the person over. He was about her age with short blonde hair and the lovely sky blue eyes to match it. Much better than her dark brown hair and her chocolate brown eyes to match her hair. He seemed like a dream. She blinked a little bit, though, when she realized that she was looking at him like she would look at Allan back home. She frowned at the thought, but pushed it out of her mind as she looked him over. Odd. He was wearing whites.

"You're... you're.." He blinked a little at what she was trying to say, but finally looked down at his uniform and then chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm a Herald. Just got my title too. I just got back from my internship yesterday. Got full marks too." She bit her lip, but then smiled softly to him and then shakes her head slightly. Where were her manners, anyway?

"I'm sorry, my name is Alicia. I just got here today." He nodded and then leaned casually on his Companion. She looked over to Corie as he stood up and then nuzzled into her hair reassuringly.

"This is Mara." He was introducing his Companion to her now. "She Chose me when I was 13. Imagine my surprise when I went out to saddle up one of my palfreys and instead of finding one of my trusted steeds, I saw this beauty standing there waiting for me, already saddled even!" He chuckled and petted under her muzzle as she closed her eyes in pleasure. Alicia looked down, quite reddend by this. How had she been Chosen? By thinking he was a runaway horse and watching as the cops almost tranquilized him. Aeren looked up at her and shook his head slightly. "Sorry, didn't mean to doze off there. We both tend to space out when I scratch her.

She smiled to him and shook her head and rubbed her fingers through Corie's mane a bit. "That's alright. I'm like that too. I've never had really any kind of friend like this before." She smiled softly and nuzzled Corie's muzzle softly, who nuzzled her face in return. They looked up when they heard a bell ring and Aeren stood up and glanced to her.

"That was the first bell for dinner. I'm gonna go back to my room and just wash up a little bit and change. Do you want to join me for dinner? Or were you have dinner with your mentor?" She frowned and lokoed down. She hadn't really been planning on going to dinner. She was about to turn down his offer when she felt a nudge in the small of her back. She turned to look to Corie, who nudged her again.

_:Go ahead, Chosen. You should start making friends here among your classmates and other Heralds. They'll help you to adjust. And remember, Heralds look out for each other.:_ She sighed a bit, but then smiled and nodded and stood up. He wasn't tacked or anything, so she didn't have to clean him off or anything since all they did was lay in the grass.

"Alright, it's a date then." She smiled to him and he smiled back. They turned, since he didn't have to worry about taking tack off of his Companion either, and started to walk back towards the collegium. She was glad that she didn't have any duties tonight. She actually went up with him to his rooms and waited in his living area while he changed and got cleaned up in his bedroom, the door closed. When he was ready, they went down to dinner together.


	7. Herald Envoy

During her time at the Collegium, Alicia learned that Corie was right. The other trainees and Heralds that were there were some of the best friends that she could make. After her initial testing, it appeared that the only things she really needed to learn was mostly about Valdemar and the surrounding lands and countries and weaponswork. She also had to be trained in her gift, which was a given, and some other minor things to help her learn about Valdamaran life. She felt more like a true Valdamaran as she learned all of the little things that made the country what it was. She and Corie had a very strong bond, second only to the Queen's own, Talia, and her Companion. She also became quite close to the first two people she ever met here. Karla was becoming her best friend ever at the Collegium, and even though she was now on her internship - having been passed a year early for some reason or another. She never went into details - , Alicia felt that they would be just as close even when she got back. Aeren was a different kind of friend though. She felt hersef falling for him faster than she ever fell for Allan, back home. He even seemed to return the feelings, but neither of them wanted to try anything until after she was past her internship. She never imagined that she would fit into this life, but she was enjoying her new life more and more as the days went by.

A few weeks after Alicia arrived at the Collegium, someone else new arrived at the Palace. His name was Darac and he was apparently an envoy. She had some free time before her weapons class, so she and Aeren, who also had some free time, were in Companion's Field together. Corie was laying behind them and they both used him as a big cushion. He never minded. Aeren's Companion, Mara was off by the water, relaxing by it, but she was still listening to their conversation. "He's from Velvar," Aeren started. "It's odd because we've never heard anything from anywhere that far south. A lot of the people down there keep to themselves." Alicia had to rack her brain to picture Velvar on a map, but she soon figured it out. She just got a little bit more comfy against Corie and then thought about that for a moment.

"Did you hear what they had been talking about?" Aeren shook his head.

"No, by that time they were out of hearing range. I don't know if I would trust him though. It just seems to easy." Alicia sighed and thought about that now as well. She didn't know enough about the politics of this land to really venture an opinion, so she just let him talk his mind. "I wonder, though, if Velvar is going to leave their envoy here for whatever they want here, or if they're going to offer our own envoy to visit." Alicia looked to him then.

"Who would they send as envoys from Valdemar?"

"Simple. Heralds. We're the offical symbol for Valdemar. Everyone recognizes a Herald and their Companion. Now, if they understand who we are, what we do, or how we use our gifts, that's another question entirely. A lot of the other countries get it all wrong." Alicia nodded at that.

"I remember that in the history class. Karse was the biggest enemy for years and years." They stopped talking politics, though, as the warning bell went off and she reluctantly got up and left them to go to her weapons class.

_Palace_

In her office was the Queen, as well as her Herald, Talia. Also closeted up was the Seneschal and his Herald, Kyril. They were conferencing over the envoy from Velvar. He had made a proposal to them that they were going to have to consider for a while. Talia had stared at the message for a good long while before sighing and speaking up, after waiting for a point where she wouldn't be interuppting the Queen and her Seneschal. "Well, your Majesty. As he was in the audience chambers, I didn't sense anything that would suggest that the King of Velvar's propsal was nothing but sincere. But then again, he could also be very well shielded, too, or even a mage. Goodness knows that I've not always been able to read everyone. Especially if they were shielded by a mage or was a mage themself." The last such occurance was the issues she and her late, fellow Herald, Kris, had on their trip into Hardorn. She tried not to think of that at the moment as she turned her attention back to the other three in the room. "But this is all down to you, Your Majesty, if you want to accept his proposal or not." She knew she was not being helpful, but she wasn't perfect, after all. Selenay gave an exasperated sigh and sat back in her chair, thinking this through.

"Well, if we turn down the offer, King Belmear might see that as an unfriendly act and might decide to act upon that. Of course I'm sure our armies would normally be much bigger than his since Velvar is such a small country. But after what we just went through with Ancar's forces, we're not up to par as we normally would be." The others agreed with her, but of course, they still talked it to death for a couple candlemarks passed dark. They had to send a page out to bring them some dinner. Finally, they had Dean Teren in the office with them.

"Here's the thing, Teren," Talia spoke, since the Queen was once again scrutinizing the letter, as if she might be able to find something wrong with the offer. "We've decided to accept King Belmear's offer of accepting an Envoy of our own to visit his country. We didn't think we were ready to after what happened in Hardorn, but we felt that we couldn't ignore this. If he would see this as an aggressive act on our part, he could easily take our army down because we are still a bit weak from the battle with Hardorn. Now, we need someone who is somewhat familiar with the southern border as well as someone who has a strong Mindspeech gift. If we could get two Heralds to go, that would probably be better."

Teren nodded and then went through his mental role of all the Heralds that were on the Collegium grounds. It took him a couple of minutes, but then looked back to them. "I know the perfect two. Herald Aeren is waiting for an assignment. He's from the south, just above the Holderkin lands. And I think I know the perfect Mindspeaker to go with him. Trainee Alicia. Actually, we were about to pass her through early because she had been learning so fast. I think by the time that our envoy would be ready to leave for Velvar she would be ready to join him. Jeri said she was doing excellent with her weaponswork, so she'll be ready to defend herself if need be. She has the strongest Mindspeech gift I've seen come through here in a long time and even her Companion has a strong reach." The Queen nodded her approval to it.

"See to it, Teren." She sighed when everyone, but her and Talia, had gone and then sat back in her chair, looking to her young friend. "I just hope that we're not going to grasp for straws that aren't there. The last thing we need is for another country to be agressive with." Talia sighed and nodded as well. She bade Selenay good night and then left to go to her own quarters and her waiting husband.


	8. Troubled Thoughts

Darac stood in his room. It was dusk and he was looking out over the Palace gardens. There were two people down there, one was white-clad, the other was dressed similarly, but in grey. They were sitting on a bench, talking with each other. He just stared at them, his eyes narrowed. He learned that these were the two that would be accompanying him back to Velvar. He had his hands clasped behind his back as he considered this for a moment. The male, he knew was a Herald because of his clothing. He found that he was near the Valdamaran-Karsite border, so he would be familiar with the southern roads. That explained him. The other was a Herald-trainee because of _her_ clothing. She confused him, however. No one could tell him where she was from. He finally had to enchant a bird to listen to some of the other Heralds and Herald trainees that were outside. He finally found out that this girl, Alicia as he found her name to be, was from some other realm. That would explain her strange name and her strange behavior. She didn't know a lot of the usual Valdamaran customs that even _he_ knew. He had reported to King Belmear earlier in the day by enchanting his mirror with a simple telecommunication spell. The idea of an outsider like Alicia troubled his King, and he demanded to find out everything he could about this new one.

So here he was, standing at the window, watching these two. He shook his head and closed his curtains, walking over to the chair in front of the fireplace. The sight of the two of them disgusted him. If the boy sat any closer to her, he might as well be courting her. He had been trying to find out everything he could about this girl, but it just wasn't going as smoothly as he hoped it would. This girl was just as much a stranger to her classmates and friends as she was to him. Finally, he decided to take a different kind of interest in the girl. He stood up and put his boots on, heading out of the room. He walked down the staircase and then out into the gardens, acting as if he had wanted to walk out here the entire time. When he caught up to where the two of them were sitting, he tried to change his voice in to mock-surprise. "Well! And here I thought that the only roosters this time of the evening would be the owls." He said that with a smile, hoping they wouldn't figure out that he had been watching them for a while now. They looked up when they saw him and immediately stood up in recognition of his position as an envoy.

"Well, Ambassador Darac. We figured that the owls could use some company." The male said. What was his name? Aeren, that was it. He just smiled and offered the two of them a little bow before speaking back to him.

"I can understand that, Herald Aeren. But who is this charming young lady? I've seen her around working with her Companion, but I've never seen her around court." The girl looked nervous as she chewed on her lip in thought for a moment. It seemed she wasn't sure how to speak to him. That also showed him how out of place she was in this realm.

"My name is Alicia, Ambassador. You've never seen me around too often, I'm afraid, because I'm still a trainee. Besides.. I'm not sure how useful I would be around the palace." She blushed a little bit and Darac guessed that she was extremely shy, even around her fellow trainees. That would fit in quite nicely with how outsiders act. He just smiled and bowed to her now. He then took her hand and kissed the top of it gently. She blushed a very deep maroon red. He smiled and then stood up again, looking between the two.

"So, I hear that you two are to be the Valdamaran envoys that will accompany me back to Velvar. I'm pleased to know that it's true." He smiled to the two of them and he was rewarded with a smile back from each of them. That was good. He was gaining their trust, which is what he wanted. It would make things easier for all of them. "Well.. with that thought, I think I shall take myself back up to my room and turn in for the night. Enjoy your evening with the owls and I hope to see both of you around more often before we head south." He then turned and headed back towards the palace, nodding to the guard there as he headed back up to his room.

_Back in the garden_

After Darac had taken himself back inside, Aeren and Alicia sat back down on the bench they had been sitting on before he came out to them. Aeren looked thoughtful as Alicia watched him. "What is it?" Is all she could ask. Aeren looked to make sure that they were alone again before speaking her thoughts softly to her.

"I don't trust him. He was too friendly. That and I know he knew who you were. I know Talia made sure to explain to him who we were when they picked us to be the envoys. There's not that many trainees around with your description, and very few trainees would be seen with a Herald of _my_ description." She tilted her head at that, waiting for him to gather his thoughts before he continued. "Even Mara doesn't trust him. Usually it's a good idea to judge someone's character on how your Companion feels about them. Their insticts are almost never wrong. They've saved the lives of many Monarchs and Heralds. What about Corie? What does he say about him?"

Alicia had to shrug at that one. "He's not sure what to think about him. He doesn't trust him, per say. But he's also not at the point where's he's telling me to stay completely away from him. It's kind of hard to describe." Surprised by his nod, she linked her arm with his while he spoke again.

"He might not get too much until we're on the road with him. I think when it's just us, our Companions, and him, will they come to their final conclusions about him." She looked towards the only window with light, knowing that it was his room and chewed her lip again in thought.

"So what are we going to do if he is untrustworthy?" He shook his head and hugged her shoulders lightly.

"I'm not sure yet. But come on. I'll walk you back to your dorm. We both have a pretty busy day ahead of us tomorrow and you could definitely use your sleep." She grinned and playfully shoved him a little bit.

"Look who's talking, Mr. Stay-up-all-night, just because you've got no assignments yet until we leave for Velvar." He grinned back and just held her hand as they walked along through the gardens and finally into the Collegium. Before they parted for the night, he gave her a light kiss on the lips.

"Sleep well, Alicia." He turned and headed towards the Herald's wing and his own rooms, leaving her at her own door. He sighed and had a light step as he walked along the hallways, listening to his feet echo in the quiet halls. Quiet, that is, until he heard that oh-so-familiar voice.

_:So, I see you're finally going to bed, hm?:_ He chuckled and shook his head as he headed into his room, closing himself in for the night and readying himself for bed.

_:You are so extremely, nosey, it's not even funny, Nag.:_ He could hear that "chuckle" in the back of his head while he slipped into bed now.

_:Nag am I? Well, we'll see how well that goes over when I _accidentally_ spread to Corie about all the dreams you've been having about her at night that's been keeping you from sleeping. And then I _accidentally _tell him to _accidentally_ pass it on to Alicia in conversation.:_ He heard that chuckle again and then he shook his head, closing his eyes.

_:Touche,: _ was all he could counter with before he fell into his usual light sleep filled with dreams of her face.


	9. The Journey Begins

Alicia was staring at herself in the mirror of her new suite. It really only had two rooms, a living room and a bedroom, but it was still bigger than the dorms she had just spent the last month in. She was trying to adjust her whites over her body a little bit. They were made from soft doeskin, but it still felt strange on her body, since it was a strange material that she had never encountered before she came to this place. Oh sure, she knew of people who had hunted deer back where she came from, but she never really touched the skin that they had sitting out, mainly because she wasn't sure she could without starting to cry for the poor animal or something. She adjusted the bottom of her tunic slightly so that it fit a little bit better over the pants. She just stared at herself in the mirror for now before she heard a chuckle coming from the other room. She peeked into the living room and smiled when she saw Aeren standing in the doorway. "I see you're preening now." Was all he had to stay as he moved in and moved up next to her. She giggled softly before looking back into the mirror again.

"The fabric is like nothing I've ever touched before. It's so soft and light." Aeren nodded to that comment, leaning in the doorway.

"Well, mainly since we're going to be going south right away, they didn't want to fit you with anything heavier yet. I believe that when we come back from Velvar, then they'll have some winter outfits ready for you. I would suggest taking one pair of normal winter clothes, though, since we should probably be coming back before Midwinter. You'll need it then, and you really shouldn't need more than one outfit." She tilted her head as he explained that part, thinking about it for a moment as she went through the pile of clean laundry that had been left for her, finding the winter version her uniform and then nods, packing it into her pack. She then looked to him again.

"So did you come here to laugh at me while I adjust my uniform? Or did you actually come here for a reason?" He smirked a bit and walked into the bedroom and sat on her bed, looking to her.

"I came for a reason, since this is going to be considered your internship assignment, I have to take you through the ropes. Getting supplies, and what not. I'll just take you to show you where you would get the supplies, but since we're going to Velvar as envoys, we'll be overnighting at inns along the way. We won't need much in the way of supplies. Even when we get into Rethwallen, since it's an allied country, we'll be using their inns as well." She nodded a bit as she packed a bit more of her stuff and then sighed softly. Now it was Aeren's turn to tilt his head. "What's wrong?"

"Oh... I just wish Karla was here, that's all. I would have loved to see her once more before we left."

"And who says you wouldn't see her??" They both jumped at the voice that appeared in her doorway. When Alicia turned, she squealed quite shrilly with happiness as she went over and tackled her friend and mentor with a tight hug. Karla hugged her back and then smiled, holding Alicia out to arm's length, looking her over. "Well well... look at you. I remember when I first brought you to your dorms. And seeing you in those Greys for the first time. I must say, though, white is definitely more your color."

Alicia smiled and blushed a deep red before giggling and playfully poking her shoulder. "Look who's talking. I think that if they hadn't passed you early, you would have snuck down into the laundry and 'borrowed' whites just to keep when you were hiding out in your room. And I use the term borrowed lightly." Now it was Karla's turn to blush and giggle before looking over her shoulder.

"So, you get to be her counselor, eh, Aeren? Good luck with this one. Being her mentor nearly gave me grey hairs." He stood up from the bed and chuckled lightly, walking over to the pair of them.

"So what are you doing back here so soon?" He asked her. She frowned slightly as she told them why she was back early.

"I'm only going to be here for a few days. Mira, my counselor, had a family emergency to get home for. She lives out near Lake Evendim, so she wanted to get started as soon as she could. So we came back yesterday, actually, and she headed out as soon as she unloaded the supplies and checked in. I'll be heading out as soon as they assign me another Herald to go with." She smiled and shook her head though and lightened up the conversation then. "So, when I heard that Alicia had been passed through to her whites to go with a Herald as envoys to Velvar, I knew I had to come see her before she ran off." Alicia smiled then.

"You make it sound like I was going to go and elope." Karla giggled and winked to her.

"How do I know you two weren't ready too, hm?" She winked again as it was Aeren's turn to blush and bid farewell to her friends before turning and leaving the room. then spoke to her Companion, _:You're right, Trey. I think there is a lifebond there. It actually seemed like they were just falling for each other, but with what I could feel without knocking their shields down, it seems like there's a lifebond there.:_ She heard a slight sigh in the back of her mind and then heard him respond to her.

_:That goes with what Mara and Corie have told me. I was merely not trying to pry too much into the affairs of their Chosen, but I just hope that this trip into Velvar doesn't go badly.:_ Karla nodded, even though no one was in the hallway as she walked back outside.

_:I agree with you. If something happens to one of them, we might just end up losing them both.:_

_Early next morning_

"Ugh. What happened to life not exisiting this early in the morning." Alicia muttered to her Companion as she and Aeren stood in the stables, working on saddling them and putting their packs on the back of the saddles. Corie threw his head and gave her one of his whicker-chuckles.

_:You might as well get used to it, love. This is the life of a Herald. Getting up at ungodly hours when they have to make long trips like you two are about to do.:_ She shook her head and made sure that the saddle was tight at the bottom. Aeren was doing the same thing, just without the yawning. They were soon joined by Darac, who had his horse saddled up and ready to go. He was simply sitting on the stallion while waiting for the two Heralds. Soon, though, they were both ready to go and they climbed up into their saddles and they all started out. Alicia remained quiet while Aeren started to ask Darac questions.

"I know we'll be heading through Rethwallen, since relations with Karse are less than friendly. What's the route after that."

"Simple," Darac started. "We go through Rethwallen, like you said, then we go through Ruvan and then into Velvar that way. We have a trade agreement with Ruvan, so they'll let us pass through easily. It's a couple weeks journey." Aeren nodded, thinking about the maps that he and Alicia studied the night before. He thought they were going to go through Jkatha, but then they realized that they would have to go the entire length of the country just to get to Velvar. Apparently, Darac knew a better way.

They traveled the entire day, going south from Haven towards Kettlesmith, then Horn. They stopped in Sweetsprings for the night. When they left in the morning, they left a chit behind to the road guard, to save them partial taxes in the coming year. They continued on just as early the next day and started to travel through farmlands. They stopped for the night just north of the Holderkin lands in the village of Cairn. It was a little bit off the Southern Trade Route, but it was Aeren's home village, and the last one that he knew of for sure before they would hit the Holderkin lands. And he knew for a fact that they wouldn't be able to stop there without problems arising. As Aeren and Alicia settled their Companions and Darac's horse into the stables of the inn for the night, Darac went off like he usually did. Neither Herald knew why he did, but they didn't feel like it was their place to ask.

Darac went off into the woods a bit, looking around to make sure he was alone, and then pulled a travelling mirror out of his pocket that he always kept with him for this purpose. He placed a simple spell on it and within moments, he was looking into the face of King Belmear himself. "We've gotten to Cairn, M'lord. The male Herald grew up here and knew that it was the last place in Valdemar that we could stop. We'll be passing through the Holderkin lands tomorrow and then we'll be crossing into Rethwallen."

"Have you learned anything more of the female yet?" Belmear asked him, tapping his fingers somewhat impatiently.

"No, Majesty." Darac shook his head as he answered him. "She isn't speaking much, though I've been trying to get her to talk about herself since we left the Capital."

"Well, then try harder, Darac. That's why you're out there. You are a mage, after all. Use those abilities you've got locked up in that tiny little brain of yours. Force the information out of her, if you have to. I want to find out everything I can about that girl before you get to the palace, understood?" He watched Darac nod his head. "I want to know where she came from, how she got here, and whatever else you can find out about her. If we can use these Heralds against Selenay, I want to do it. Now, no more excuses and start thinking. I expect to get a better progress report tomorrow." And with that last comment, Belmear's face was gone from the mirror. Darac shoved it back into his bag, giving a bit of an annoyed grunt.

He turned and left the woods where he had been hiding out and wandered back to the inn as casually as he could as if he had just been taking an evening stroll. When he walked into the common room, he looked around. It was quite empty except for the two Heralds he was travelling with. All he had to do was to get Aeren to go to bed early, and then he and the girl would be alone for him to question her. And an extensive questioning he would do, too.


	10. Interrogation

Alicia was standing at the window of the room that she and Aeren shared. She was watching Darac trod back in from the woods after the two of them had gone up to their room. She was in an old shirt and breeches that she slept in. This was a habit from her 'other life', as she taken to call it. She would always wear a t-shirt with either a pair of shorts or a pair of sweatpants, depending on weather and the temperature in her room. She just stood there with her hands clasped behind her back, watching him come back into the building. Soon, she heard the door behind her open and close, but knowing it was Aeren returning from the bathing room. She just continued to stand at the window, looking out at the night sky. Aeren pulled on his own night clothes - similiar to what she was wearing - and then walked up behind her, gently putting his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. She moved her hands down to rest on his while she leaned back against him a little bit. "I saw him come back out of the woods. Just like Mara and Corie had said." That was the first thing on her mind. Aeren just nodded and then glanced down to the ground, seeing the tail end of their travelling companion return to the inn.

"So they were correct in seeing him go into the woods and come back." She nodded and then sighed softly. He raised a brow and looked to her a little bit. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. There's just something pulling at the back of my mind is all. I'm not sure if we should trust him or not." She stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing. "It just seems weird to me to sneak out into the woods in the middle of the night and then sneak back in after doing who knows what for an hour... I mean a candlemark." This was the one part of Valdemar that she still had to get used to. Correctly talking about time. She had to remember that they spoke in candle marks, rather than hours and minutes like her people did. They still used the terms hours and minutes, but they were a bit off from how she knew them. Aeren smiled and shook his head a little bit before pulling away from her slowly and then wandered over to the soft featherbed, laying down in it, looking to her.

"Don't forget. He's from Velvar... a country we know pretty much _nothing_ about. For all we know, this could be something common that they do before they go to bed." She looked to him and nodded a bit before turning and then heading to the bed, herself, after closing the window. She crawled down into it and snuggled under the blanket.

"I'm sure you're right." But there was still that nagging thought at the back of her head, that she finally dismissed after laying in bed for a while, else she wouldn't get any sleep.

_The next morning_

Alicia was up first and had gone down to the common room to claim the three of them some breakfast. Soon after the plates were brought to the table, the two men came ambling down the stairs. Aeren sat down next to Alicia, with Darac on the opposite side of them. They ate in silence, but none of them were unenjoying their food. This was a well-to-do-inn, since they host a lot of Heralds, so they got quite a bit back from their taxes each year. And because of that, they were able to do a bit better in the way of food and drink than most other inns. So because of that, for beakfast, they were enjoying fruit and nut porridge, - not grainy or sticky like most that Aeren had had before, considering he was used to eating his own cooking - bacon, biscuits with honey, and they had mugs of fruit juice. When they were just about done, a stableboy came in and told them that their horse and Companions were fed, saddled up, and ready to go again. Aeren thanked him, and gave the innkeeper two chits, one for himself, and one for Alicia, for housing Heralds for the night. Darac made his own contribution by throwing down some coins onto the table for the serving girl. They were Valdemaran, and since he was heading home, he gave her all that he had, which was quite a lot. While they were taking care of that, Alicia had gave the stableboy a small tip - he looked to be about eight, possibly the son of the innkeeper, so she didn't want to spoil him- , and then headed out to where the Companions were waiting. Mara, Aeren's Companion, was holding onto the reins of the palfrey that Darac was riding. Alicia smiled and hugged Corie's muzzle softly and gave him a scratch on the side of his neck. He nuzzled her in returned and whuffed her hair a bit. She giggled and started to repack the few things that she had taken out into the saddle pack that was attached to the back of his saddle. While she was doing that, Aeren and Darac were heading out and Darac took the reins of his horse as Mara dropped them and the two males were now preparing to leave again. Alicia had been up in the saddle already, watching them both with an amused expression on her face.

"Hurry up, slowpokes." She giggled to them. Darac didn't respond, but she figured that he would be the serious one. Aeren just made a grin at her.

"_We_ were conducting business with the innkeeper, you sneak. You just gave the stableboy a couple of coins and then wandered out before we even noticed you were gone." She giggled and they turned their mounts around and started down the road again.

They had a small stop off before leaving the village for Aeren just to say hi to his family. He hadn't seen them in years, as his duties had kept them away for that long. They hadn't stopped for long and they were off again. "Mother gave me some meat pies, so we don't have to stop for lunch unless we get really saddle sore." He passed out packets to the other two of the group and they each gently put them in their saddle bags. They were off again before too long. It would actually take them the rest of the day to get to the border, but they were going to avoid the Holderkin lands a bit by another road that Aeren knew. It actually would cut some time off their travelling for the day. Once they passed into Rethwallen, though, they would have to stick to the major routes, unless Darac knew a better way.

It was about noon when Darac made his move. Alicia was munching on a pie, and seemed to be chatting with her Companion with Mindspeech, since she was chuckling now and then. Aeren was a bit ahead of them, so Darac nudged his own stallion up next to Corie and nodded to her. She finished off her pie and licked her fingers a little bit and then smiled to him. "Sorry. I'm not used to going for this long without food."

He chuckled a bit and nodded slowly. "It's quite alright, m'lady. But surely, you're used to going for hours without eating. For I heard that Heralds usually are too busy to get much to eat in one sitting unless they're not travelling, or like we were, at an inn." She seemed to blush a little bit at that.

"Well.. I've actually only just gotten my whites. They passed me through early so that I could go on this trip as my internship. Apparently, I made the record, as I've only been here for about a month." He tilted his head at that.

"Been here? You mean at the Collegium?" She thought about that for a moment before finally deciding that since he was an ally anyway, then it couldn't do too much damage.

"Well.. kinda, but not really. I'm not exactly from Valdemar."

"You mean you're from outKingdom. What country are you from then? You do have a kind of a strange accent."

She sighed a moment in thought before answering him. "I'm actually from.. another realm, if you will. I don't think of it that way, but that's how it had to be thought of since Corie had to get through a gate to get me and get us back." She had no problems talking about Corie as if he was a person, mostly because he had been convinced that Companions were more than just well-trained horses while he was at the palace.

Darac seemed to be thinking about this information before speaking to her again. "That's interesting. I've never heard of anyone going through a gate to another realm, let alone being able to bring someone back. I'm surprised you both survived the trip."

She smiled a little bit. "We almost didn't, as the Companion that had been holding the gate, lost the control, and we actually ended up almost all the way to Hardorn."

He nodded a little bit, continuing to take in the information. Finally, he would have something to report to his king. He would have all the information he dug up on Herald Aeren already, since he was from Valdemar, but Herald Alicia was his responsibility. And some information was better than none. He stopped asking her questions for now, and as the sun started to set, they made it to the Rethwallen border. Aeren and Darac spent some time getting both sets of papers straight with the Rethwallen guards. Granted King Faramentha had excellent relations with Queen Selenay, since his niece was Princess Elspeth, the guards took no chances, just in case someone tried to fake their way in. They moved in to the country and soon, found their stop for the night in the second village on the trade road. It was one that Darac had stopped in himself on the way into Valdemar, and told them that it was a good place to stop.

Tonight, after the Heralds tended to their Companions, had their dinner, and retired to their room, Darac snuck out of the building and into the woods that were near this building, grinning as he contacted his king. "King Belmear. I have some new information on the female Herald."


	11. Trader's Warnings

It took them about a week to get through Rethwallen till they got to the Ruvan border. Here was were Aeren's expertise ended and Darac took the lead. During that week, Darac had learned as much as he could about Alicia. Then, each night, he had reported to Belmear about what he had learned. Each night, he could see Belmear becoming more and more pleased with him. After a little bit of his own mental prodding, careful not to nudge on her shields, he finally found out that the little bit of attraction the two Heralds had on each other was a lifebond. The best part, to him at least, was that neither of them had acknowleged it. This could turn to their advantage, and it had been the last thing he reported to Belmear. He took the lead and the two Companions followed him. Aeren had been watching them carefully during the course of their travels through Rethwallen. After much thinking on his own this past week, he finally decided to consult with his Companion.

_:Mara. I have a question for you.: _he started.

_:All you have to do is ask, dearest.:_ came the reply.

He sighed softly and then thought about how to word this before finally asking his question. _:Can you feel anything from Darac? I mean.. I'm sure you've noticed how um... close, he and Alicia had been the last couple of days. I... I know she's trying to be nice in the face of a new ally. But I mean... that can't be normal, spending _that_ much time together, can it?:_ Mara flicked her tail as she thought about her reply, keeping an even pace with Corie. She knew there was a lifebond there, but she couldn't just go out and say it. Things didn't work that way, and she knew that she would do more harm than good. But it was slightly good to her to hear him getting a twinge of jealousy, even if it can be dangerous.

_:I don't think there's something terribly wrong about it. I mean, granted, there is something about him that I just can't sense, but it doesn't seem to be dangerous. Don't forget, Alicia's people are more forward than our own people. She might have been used to talking to people like this for years. Don't forget how easily she opened up to you once she got used to being in a new place.:_ Aeren thought about that and figured that his Companion was right. She usually was, but he would never tell her that. Her head was big enough with vanity as it was. He had been thinking and watching Darac that he hadn't even noticed that Alicia had nudged Corie over next to Mara. He jumped when she whispered to him.

"Are you alright? You seemed really distant there for a while." He smiled to her and shook his head.

"I'm fine. Nothing major.. Just talking to Mara for a little. Some stuff that I had been thinking about for a while." She furrowed her brows at that, but he chuckled and shook his head. "Don't worry. It's nothing. It's just been hectic for a while that I never really get to sit and talk with Mara at length like I'm able too now." She nodded then, still worried about him, but figuring that he just wanted to be left alone. Neither Herald had noticed their Companion giving each other a bit of a glance of worry. They just hoped nothing bad would happen on this mission before the lifebond would be acknowleged. Mostly they wanted their Heralds to be happy.

They continued to move through Ruvan without any problems. It was strange going through the villages, though, since the natives had never seen Heralds or Companions before. They were heard of, of course, but they never seen them. They attracted quite the crowd as their Companions' hooves made their chiming sounds on the cobblestones of the villages that they passed through. The Companions decided they had enough quiet time on the road, and decided to show off. They both threw their heads up and matched their paces. Darac was in front of them, but glanced over his shoulder, curiously, to see what was going on. The moment the two Companions started to sound like one, he looked back ahead again, trying not to chuckle. He hated to admit it, but it was quite amusing to see that. Aeren smiled a bit, used to Mara making herself look like a spectacle and just sat up straighter in the saddle, the sun hitting off his white uniform perfectly. Alicia just watched him for a moment before glancing down to Corie. She then looked around at the villagers watching them and flushed a bright red, clearly not used to having this sort of attention. She could hear Corie chuckle in the back of her mind.

_:Don't worry, love. The folk will be more interested in watching Mara and I than you two. Aeren just likes to try and show off as much as Mara so that he's not ignored.:_ She smiled a little bit, then, and started to relax, especially after they got through the village. It was just weird to try and get over how much these people like to show off. Not that her own people didn't like to show off.. some of them, anyway.

They stayed in inns along the way, only these were different than the ones in Valdemar and Rethwallen. They were specifically made for traders. There was just a small fee to the innkeeper and you got dinner and a room. Most people here had their own wagons that they slept in, so they just paid a small wagon fee and maybe something for dinner if they didn't have food of their own to cook, or the ability to cook in their wagons. Darac went into the inn to take care of the dinner and rooms while the Heralds took care of the horse and Companions. While they were brushing their Companions down, one of the traders approached them and spoke in easy Valdamaran.

"Heralds, eh? What is it you two being all the way down 'ere for?" Aeren spoke for the two of them since he was the senior Herald on this trip.

"We're travelling with the envoy from Velvar. We're heading down to Velvar as representitives of Queen Selenay to start to establish a possible alliance with King Belmear." The trader listened to him and then frownd slightly. Alicia tilted her head, but then the trader changed his look and spoke back to them.

"Well, best of luck to ye, Heralds. I'm headed back to Valdemar in the morn'." He seemed to hesitate, but as a fellow Valdemaran, he felt he had to speak. "I just want to say, Heralds. Proceed with caution in Velvar. I 'ad a friend return from there - 'e is from Rethwallen - and he said that it seemed that 'ole King Belmear seemed a bit... restless." Alicia took her turn to speak now.

"What do you mean by restless?" The trader shrugged a little bit and sighed because he couldn't give too much information than that.

"I'm not sure, Lady Herald. 'E didn't go into details about his time down there, but 'e seemed nervous and seemed to be glad to return to Ruvan." This didn't sit well with either Herald or either Companion, but it was too late to turn back now. They just hoped that the trader's troubles, wasn't caused by the King after all, but he rather exagerrated just to hide something on his own end.

They turned and headed into the inn and joined Darac at the table that he claimed, and ate their dinner in silence. Darac ended up getting three rooms instead of just two. It seemed like a good idea since they were new to this country. In Valdemar, those who were the most familiar with Heralds knew that they were used to sleeping together in Waystations, so had no problem housing them together. And thanks to the alliance that Valdemar had with Rethwallen, innkeepers there were familiar with that news as well. Ruvan knew nothing of Heralds, so when they dealt with three people, they got three rooms. When they split up for the night, neither Aeren nor Alicia slept well at all, the words of the trader ringing in their heads.


	12. Coincidences

It took them a couple of days to travel the road through Ruvan. They didn't encounter any more traders from Valdemar, which didn't surprise them in the least, considering how far down into the country they were now. So they didn't have any more discussions about anything that might be going on down in Velvar. Finally, they came in view of the border between Ruvan and Velvar. They stopped while Darac showed the guards on both their sides the papers. It was interesting that the guard on the Velvar side of the border didn't recognize him, but that could also be because he didn't have any kind of specific uniform of his office the way that Heralds did. Anybody recognized a Herald, or even some one with great importance to the Queen because they also had their own Heralds. After a moment, they were off again. Aeren nudged Mara up to move next to Darac's horse, speaking to him while Alicia looked around in wonder of the beautiful countryside. "How long will it be before we get to your capital?"

"Not long," was Darac's remark. He then said more of it. "The country is not that big." He looked up to the sky to judge where the sun was and about what time it was. It was very late in the afternoon. "We will have to stop once, though. If we had crossed the border in the morning, we could have made it to the castle by nightfall. As such, we'll need to stop when it gets dark. But if we leave early enough in the morning then, we can make it to the castle by late afternoon at the latest." Aeren nodded and seemed pleased by this news. He slowed down and let Corie catch up to him and then relayed to Alicia what Darac had just told him.

"That's good to hear," she responded. "I could use a break from riding for a while. I've never had to ride this long before, and my legs are very, very sore." Aeren chuckled and nodded.

Just after dark, they came to their stopping point. It wasn't an inn or anything else of that sort. That surprised Aeren, because it was a military post. He didn't think that the memers of their army would be willing to accept them for the night. However, when Darac approached the Captain in charge of the post, the man just nodded and then showed where they could leave their mounts. When they were led in, they were just in time for dinner. It wasn't much, just some military rations, but it was edible, and that's all they were concerned about. After eating, Darac and Aeren were taken to the barracks with the other men. Alicia was seperated from Aeren and was taken to where the Healers were. They were all female, so it was more appropriate to give her a cot with them. She had thought long and hard about it, but then decided to ask them about their King and the kingdom.

She talked to them in great length, but she noticed that every answer seemed the same. They were happy with their king. It was hard to tell if that was the truth of if they were saying that out of fear of someone overhearing them, but either way, they only mentioned how good of a king he was. That didn't sit right with her, considering what the trader back in Ruvan told them. She finally decided that perhaps the trader's friend must've gotten himself into a bit of a bind, and that caused him to think badly of the King and kingdom. The Healers that she was bunking with all, eventually, turned in for the night. When the last candle was blown out, Alicia laid in the dark, thinking to herself. She just couldn't sleep, so she finally decided to touch her Companion's mind, hoping he wasn't sleeping. _:Corie?:_

The reply was almost instant. _:Chosen?:_ Alicia sighed softly, glad thast he hadn't been sleeping.

_:Since we got here, have you or Mara heard anything from the stable hands?:_ They knew that there were a couple of stable boys, since she and Aeren had to make sure that they knew how to take care of the Companions. She just waited, staring at the dark ceiling as she did, for Corie's response.

_:I didn't hear anthing, dear. But Mara said that she _thought _that she heard one of the soldiers talking to a curious stable boy about you two. She's not exactly sure what he was saying, since she didn't really get the language yet. But from his tone, it sounded as though the soldier was bragging.:_ Alicia sighed softly. That wasn't helpful. Before she could speak to him again, she heard another 'voice.' This one wasn't familiar, at first, but soon, she recognized it.

_:Aeren!:_

_:Sorry to startle you. Mara said you were awake, so I figured I would see if I could Mindspeak to you. I guess it's getting stronger for you since you've been here. Anyways, I was thinking. Maybe I should send out a message back to Valdemar. I don't want to give the Queen any false information until we know something for sure, but I want to at least talk to Kyril and see if he can find _anything_ on Velvar that might be useful.:_ That shocked Alicia in more ways that one.

_:But Aeren. First off, you're a Farseer, not a Farspeaker. There's no way you'd get anything across the pasture outside, let alone across two and a half countries. And second off, what could Kyril find that would be useful. I thought that we didn't have any information on Velvar because of how they always kept to themselves.:_ She could almost hear a mental snort from him, that sounded vaguely like the ones the Companions could give through Mindspeech.

_:Actually, I do have the Farspeaking gift in me. I'm one of the rarer Heralds that can do more than one thing well. Mindspeech, Farseeing, and Farspeaking. Granted the Mindspeech and the Farseeing are the two stronger ones, but I can Farspeak, and Mara says that if she and Corie help, they can boost my range quite a bit. Then, if it still doesn't reach Kyril, there are a couple of Herald envoys in Rethwellan as well, and they might be able to relay my message. I know one of _them _is a Farspeaker.:_ He said it so smoothly that Alicia just had to sigh before relaying the message to Corie. Corie snorted in her mind then and gave her his answer.

_:I heard every word, and as long as he's willing to put up with the reaction-headache that's going to come from it, then I would be more than willing to help out with this.:_

That seemed to settle it then. Corie slipped out of her mind, and she knew nothing for a little while. She didn't have any Farspeaking ability in her, so she really couldn't hear what they had to say. She layed there in the dark for what seemed to be forever before finally she felt Corie slip back into her mind.

_:The message has been sent. Mara and I believe that it's going to actually go through a network of Farspeakers back until it reaches Kyril in Haven. Aeren is now trying to sleep off his headache, so I wouldn't try to wake him. You can talk more about this in the morning. And_ you_ should be sleeping as well, love. It's been a very long day, just as the others have been.:_ With that, he slipped out of her mind, before she could get a response in, and then sighed softly. She settled down onto the cot a bit more and then closed her eyes to try and get some sleep herself.

_The next day_

They did start out as early as Darac had promised. They grabbed some more rations to go and ate in the saddle. There wasn't too much to look at. It appeared that Velvar was a very flat country. Alicia's head turned from one way to the other as they moved up the road. She saw several farms which had the usual. Crops, sheep, and cows. However, she made Corie stop at one point and he turned his head to look at her curiously. _:What's wrong, Alicia? You looked like you just saw a ghost or something.:_ She just sat in the saddle and stared at this particular farm. Corie made a bit of a noise to get Aeren and Darac's attentions. They both turned and moved back to where she was, to see what she was staring at. Aeren finally nudged her in the arm and she turned her head to look to Darac.

"Those animals, out in the field. Those don't happen to be... llamas are they??" Aeren looked confused, but Darac peered out into the field a bit before looking to her and nodding.

"Those are indeed, llamas, Herald Alicia. I'm surprised. I thought you Valdemarans knew nothing of our country." They turned and finally started to continue on the road again, Alicia riding in between the two of them.

"Well... we actually have them.. where I'm from." She gave a side glance to Aeren who still looked confused and sighed softly. "Llamas are wool creatures. As far as I know, they're not raised for their meat. But then again, I haven't been everywhere. I know that the main reason they're raised is for their wool." She continued to watch as they passed the farm and then tilted her head. In another pen was another familiar animal. "Those are alpacas!!" Aeren turned to look, curiously, and Darac smiled a little bit, a genuine one, and nodded.

"Yes, Herald, they are. They have the best milk around. Better than cow's milk. They make good cheese too." Alicia was just amazed and continued to look around, wondering what other animals she could recognize that she never remembered seeing in Valdemar. Aeren and Darac just continued to talk, this time talking about the economics of their two countries. Alicia could scarcely believe how many similarities there were between her own realm and Velvar. It was almost too coincidental.

_:I wouldn't say coincidental, Chosen,:_ Corie said to her, following her thoughts. _:I would actually say it was suspicious.:_ Alicia blinked at that thought, but didn't share the thought with Aeren. She didn't want to worry him, but Corie was right, now that she thought about it. It was suspicious.


	13. True Feelings

I apologize for the long awaited next chapter, but there's just been so much going on these past few months, and I just now remembered that this story was even here. Well.. I hope this new chapter makes up for that.

_Chapter 13_

Darac had been right. They made the capital by dinnertime. As he led them into the main courtyard, he got off his horse and then let the stableboy take it away. He then looked to the two Heralds as they got off their Companions. They were both a bit skeptical of letting the stable hands take the Companions, not sure if they would know that they're not just horses. Darac gave a bit of an amused smile before he shakes his head. "Fear not, Heralds. Our country knows of your Companions, now. They have been briefed on how to care for them." Aeren nodded and released Mara to the hand waiting and Alicia was hesitant to release Corie, but after a gentle nudge and nuzzle, she did the same. Darac turned and led the two into the palace. Alicia noted compared to the palace in Haven, this one was quite small. She decided to strike up her own conversation as Aeren had been doing most of the talking since they left Valdemar.

"I hope I'm not being too bold in asking... well.. why is your king's palace so small?" Aeren looked to her with a bit of a shock and she shrugged a bit. Darac just chuckled sotly and shook his head.

"It's alright, Herald Aeren. I don't mind answering such a question." He thought about how to answer before he finally did. "Well, if I can remember my history correctly, the first king of our land didn't have many resources. Not many servants or any kind of people with the right kind of skills. So he had to build a palace that reflected that. As far as I can recall, he was the only king of our land to even do any work himself." Alicia just nodded a bit, thinking about that. She didn't know too much about royal families and how they started. Not even too much about Valdemaran history, just enough to know about her own job. They jut conitnued to walk down the hallway and Darac finally stopped before a large set of double doors. He turned to them and then opened it to reveal quite the luxurious suite. "We got back for you to have an audience with King Belmear. I'll have dinner sent to your rooms so that you may relax for the night and eat in peace and in the morning, you'll be presented before the king."

Aeren nodded and thanked him, stepping into the suite and looking around. As Alicia was about to move in, Darac gently grabbed her wrist and then spoke softly to her. "I was wondering, after you clean up and eat of course, if you might want to go for a walk with me." She just stared at him, but it seemed innocent enough. She nodded softly to him and he let her go, letting her into the room.

She went over to the couch and sighed a bit, taking off her tunic and throwing it over the back. She was wearing a thin shirt underneath. It was just something she had been used to. Aeren watched her and she blinked a little bit when she noticed him watching her. She just looked back at him and then he just smiled a little bit before turning to go into the bathroom to take a bath that he had been running since it was heated automatically. She tilted her head, but didn't say anything. She just waited until their food was brought to the room. She looked to their meal and noticed that it looked quite familiar. She just stood there, staring at it as Aeren came back out, combing his hair and looked to the meal, tilting his head. Alicia spoke first.

"It's baked chicken, mashed potatoes..." She tasted her portion. "Garlic mashed potatoes." She looked at the plate again. "Biscuits, and ... " She took the pitcher and poured herself a little something, then tasted it. "Iced Tea." She looked to him with a nod, satisfied that she had gotten their dinner correct. He looked to her before tasting his own meal.

"I've never had potatoes and garlic together like this before." He sat down with his meal to eat. She did the same and then goes to wash herself. After another hour or so, there came a knock on the door. Aeren answered it, seeing it was Darac, and letting him in. Alicia put on a clean uniform and then headed out with him. Aeren just sat there on the couch, more concerened than ever, for more than one reason why.

_Out in the gardens_

Darac and Alicia was walking slowly through the royal gardens. It was still warm down here, so there were a lot of flowers that were in bloom. Lillies, roses, poppies, and marigolds. There were tons of other flowers, but those the ones that she recognized right away, since those were some of her mother's favorite flowers. They just talked about things as they walked, and she was beginning to enjoy his company. Soon, she decided to ask another question. "There are just a lot of coincidences that I couldn't help but to notice." He was silent, but so was she. She had to think about what to say next. "I can't figure out if there just that - coincidences - or if there's something more there." Darac was silent as well, but soon, he spoke.

"That's something I think that maybe the king should explain when you talk to him." She just blinked a little bit at that. She was from somewhere else, but what did his king have to do with it. She couldn't figure it out. She didn't ask, though, as they finished their walk and he walked her back to the suite.

When she walked in, noticing Aeren, she just stood there. "Are you alright? I figured you'd be dead asleep by now. Granted you're used to riding more than I am, but even you can't stay awake after a trip like that." Aeren stood and then walked over to her, giving her a tight hug. She tilted her head, but hugged her back before looking to him once more. "What's wrong, Aeren? This isn't like you. You've changed a lot since we left Valdemar." He stood there before taking her hand and then walking back over to the couch, sitting down on it. She sat down next to him, curling one of her legs under her body. Aeren sighed softly and then looked to her once more.

"There's something that's been on my mind for a while, and now I've decided that it was time to talk to you about this." She tilted her head, but kept quiet, waiting for him to say his piece. "Alicia, for some time now, I've been thinking about this, and I wasn't sure how to tell you this, but now, I do have to say it. I... I really care for you. More than just a friend. Alicia.. I... I love you." There. He said it. Now he just watched her and waited for what she had to say to it.

Alicia just sat there, staring at him for now, not even sure of what to say. She heard that familiar voice in the back of her head, though. _:Go ahead and say it, love. I know you've been thinking about the same thing for about the same amount of time now.: _She looks to Aeren then, after listening to what Corie had to say and then sighs softly.

"Aeren.. I... I care for you too. Actually, I've felt the same way for a little while now. Not sure how long, but for quite a while." Aeren smiles, and she smiled back. Aeren gently put his hands on her cheeks and then leaned in to kiss her softly. It just went on from there, and little did they know that they had someone watching them while they were in the living room. When they moved into the bedroom, the face disappeared.


	14. Breakfast

The next morning, they got dressed in their formal uniforms. Things were much lighter between them since they finally admitted their feelings for each other. Their Companions had been wondering how long it was going to take for it to happen, but were glad that it had finally happened. Today would be the first day that they would see King Belmear. The servant that had come to their room had told them that they would be having breakfast with them. That was fine, both Heralds were extremely hungry. When they were ready, they left their room and followed the servant down to the dining room. It was empty except for a couple of servants that were there, setting the table with the plates and silverware. It was huge, despite the size of the castle itself. The table was long and there were only four places set. They sat down on the side that would be to the left side of the King. Of course it was the only side where there were two places side by side. It appears that they were quite early, so they were talking amongst each other. Before they knew it, a gong somewhere rang, and the stood up, figuring that had to be him. Soon, Belmear appeared in the doorway, slowly walking into the dining room. He was in his most regal, with jewels all over the place and a huge robe that a servant came and took off of him. The crown on his head had dark blue and black jewels on it. He sat down at his place at the head of the table, with Darac sitting at the place on his King's right. Alicia and Aeren then sat down after they did. The King smiled to them politely, nodding his head to him and Aeren spoke first. "Your Majesty, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Herald Aeren, and this is my partner Herald Alicia." He nodded to Aeren and then smiled to Alicia.

"It's very nice to meet you both. Darac has told me much about you when you got to the castle last night." Aeren smiled and then he turned his eyes to Alicia. "It's nice to meet someone as pretty as you. And Alicia... that's such an unusual name, but I like it." Alicia smiled and blushed deeply before she looked down to her empty plate and then back to him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. You're embarassing me." He just chuckled and then sat back as a couple of servants brought out some plates and sat them on the plates that were already siting on the table. They took the lids off the plates and then walked off. Alicia just stared at the plate. Aeren watched her and then nudged her softly. She shook her head to him. "It.. it's nothing. It's just that.. they're serving us... grits."

Darac gave a sideglance to Belmear who nodded to him. Belmear then looked up to Alicia and smiled to her. "You're right, Herald. It is grits. It's a specialty of our kingdom. It's made from... "

But, Alicia interuppted. That wasn't exactly polite, but she was completely freaked out. "It's made from cornmeal. Ground up corn." Belmear was annoyed by being interuppted by this woman, but for now, had to keep himself from overreacting.

"That's correct. That's exactly how it's made. You seem to know a lot about us. Do you have relatives here?" Alicia shook her head and looked back down to her plate, just starting to eat quietly. That's saying something, considering she hated grits. Aeren watched her for a moment, thinking that it was odd that someone who had only just arrived in their world would know details of stuff in the country that even his people knew nothing about. They ate through the grits quietly, and when the next plate came, it was a normal breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast, with some juice. Finally, Belmear spoke to them again. "So, Queen Selenay has my proposal on her desk, what does she think of it?"

Aeren looked to him, wiped his face with his napkin and then spoke up, resting his arm on the table. "Well, she has gone through it carefully by herself and then again just as carefully with Queen's Own Herald Talia. I'm sure you can understand her going over it as many times as she did. With all due respect, Your Majesty, it just seems odd that you would send this request now, when your country has almost isolated itself from the rest of the surrounding nations. Well, from what we can see, except Ruvan." He stopped, wondering if he was going to say anything before he would continue. Belmear just nodded to him, but didn't say anything, which gave Aeren the clue to continue. "Queen Selenay just felt to send us ahead to find out more details about your offer, in which case we will relay the message to her and she will give us your response."

Belmear knew how it would be done, but he didn't want to give away the fact that Darac had been communicating with him every night since he arrived in Valdemar. So instead, he just played the fool and put his hand under his chin for a moment. "Is that so? Pray, tell me how that's possible when it's about a two week journey from my kingdom to yours."

Aeren puffed his chest out so much that Alicia almost choked on her sausage to giggle at him. He looked over to her, but didn't say anything as she cleared her throat out and then drank some juice to get the sausage down. He then looked back to Belmear again to tell him how they were going to do it. "We Heralds have.. well, to make it simpler, we have what outKingdomers call magic. It's not really, just some mind powers, I guess you can call them. I can send a relay of mind speech up through the kingdoms to get back to Queen Selenay." Belmear nodded a little bit and then sat back in his chair as the servant took away his empty plate. The others soon followed suit.

Belmear sat in thought for a moment before finally looking to him. "How about we do this. We'll let our breakfast settle, as I have some matters of state to attend to this morning, then before luncheon, we will meet again and go over the details better." Aeren nodded and stood up to leave the dining room. Alicia looked to him as Belmear smiled to her. She just gave him a little bit of a nervous smile before quickly turning and then heading out of the dining room to follow Aeren. When the door was closed, Belmear looked to Darac, speaking softly to him, just in case. "Throw the plan into action." He got a nod from his aide and Darac quickly moved out of the dining room.


	15. Plans

Aeren and Alicia had been in their room for about an hour, but Alicia was really getting tired of being in there. She decided to go for a bit of a walk in those gardens that Darac took her for a walk in yesterday. She asked Aeren about joining her, but he wanted to get some last minute questions written out for when they met with the king again. That was fine with her. She wasn't very good with these diplomatic missions. She wandered outside, sharing some amusing anecdotes with Corie in the meanwhile before she stopped, hearing someone up ahead of her. She slowly walked up before stopping again, seeing the King. She just stood there, politely as he noticed her and walked over to her, taking her hand gently and kissing the top of it. She thought that to be an odd way to act, but she wasn't going to say anything about it. Instead, she bowed her head a litle bit. "My apologies, Your Majesty, for intruding on your solitude. I had figured that you would be dealing with those matters of state that you said you had to do." She flushed a little bit, thinking she went too far, but relaxed when he just smiled to her.

"I do, in fact, Herald. But even us rulers need to take a break every now and then." He looked around for a moment before looking to her again. "Since neither of us have any company, would you care to walk with me for a little while?" She nodded a bit, smiling softly to him. He held out his arm and she gently took it and they started to walk through the more private area of the garden, reserved for the royal family.

When she noticed that sign, she had to think to herself and then looked to Belmear. "Your Majesty, I can't help but to think this might be super rude of me to ask, but I was curious. I didn't notice any family. That is, you're not married? Or have any kids of your own?" Belmear looked to her with a small smile, and shook his head.

"No, M'lady, unfortuantely, I haven't found a princess worthy enough to be my queen yet. I can only hope that I find one soon so that I might be able to produce an heir to my throne. I am young yet, and our contry doesn't have any bad relations to cause any wars, so with luck, I will be able to find that without waiting too much longer."

She nodded and was about to respond until she was interuppted. _:Chosen, be careful. I feel something strange around him. Some kind of odd aura.:_ She just smiled and walked with Belmear while she consulted with Corie.

_:What are you talking about? What kind of odd aura?:_

_:Well, I didn't want to spoil your walk, as I was hoping you didn't have to walk alone, but there's just something about the way he's speaking to you that makes me think that he's not all he appears to be.:_

_:Oh, Corie. Don't overreact. He's just telling me something out of his personal life. To be honest, I'm surprised he's even doing that at all. Don't worry, I'm sure everything is fine.:_ She didn't say anything more to him, but got a bit of a mental snort in her mind from him. She would talk to him later, and she was sure that they could work it out. Meanwhile, Belmear was watching her and she glanced to him, getting a surprised look on her face at the strange look he was giving to her. "Umm.. I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but is something wrong?"

He shook his head and then stopped walking, turning to her a bit before speaking softly to her. "Herald, I must confess something to you. I don't believe that you belong with those Heralds out of Valdemar." She had a confused look on her face, but before she could say something, he continued. "You and I are more alike than you think. Our people are one in the same."

Before he could continue, though, she stopped him and then pulled her arm from his and took a step back, watching him. "What are you talking about? Of course we're not the same. I come from a completely different world than this. As far as my world is concerned, this world would be back in the medival age. With kings, knights, castles and stuff."

Belmear shook his head and took a step closer to her again. "You're not understanding me. We are the same people. My ancestors came here from your world." She just stared at him, unsure of what to think of these new thoughts that he was giving to her. He then went about describing in the purest of detail everything about her world. The llamas and the alpacas had been brought here by their people. Apparently, someone from this world had brought a group of people from her world into this one. He didn't go into details, explaining that she probably wouldn't understand. He was right, her head was spinning, and she couldn't even follow the thoughts that Corie was putting into her head either. She moved to one of the concrete benches that were nearby and then sat gingerly down onto it, putting her head into her hands for a moment. Belmear watched her before slowly moving over to the bench and the nsitting down next to her. He gently put his finger underneath her chin so that she looked up and into his eyes. Something odd, she had to admit, was going on now. His eyes weren't the same green as they had been when she last looked at him.

Just then, a loud wail of a sound came out of no where and hooves on stone came over the bushes. Her Companion was right by her side, staring down Belmear as if daring him to touch her once more. He hadn't alerted Aeren's Companion yet, figuring that he would be able to handle this on her own, but Belmear just smiled to him. Corie lifted his head, looked around for a moment and then looked down to Alicia. She was completely dazed, staring off into space if you will. Her pupils were almost turned into cat-like slits. Corie growled menacingly before the strangest sensation came over him. He was completely bound, and couldn't move, yet there was nothing around him physically. he looked around and Darac came out from behind one of the bushes and nodded to his king. Belmear then walked up to Darac, but Corie could still hear what they were saying. Meanwhile, Alicia still sat on the bench, staring at the same nothing she had been staring at before.

"Very good work, Darac. Now. Go take him somewhere where the other horse won't find him. I think that spell will be strong enough that he won't break free of it. But remember, not to kill him. Remember what our spies found out about the bond these Heralds have with their Companions. This girl will help us to complete our plans better if she's alive, rather than dead." Darac nodded to him as he started to walk away, using his hands as if he was actually pulling on a lead rope or reins, yet there was nothing there. Corie snorted, struggling against the invisible bond, but he had no choice but to follow him out of the gardens. Belmear watched as the Companion was pulled away and looked back to the girl sitting on the bench, moving to sit next to her and complete his work.

_Back in the suite_

Aeren had fallen asleep in the bed. He really didn't get much sleep the night before, and while he was going over some notes, had finally drifted off. He didn't know how long he was out, however, when an alarm went ringing through his ears, causing him to physically jump in the bed and then lay there, staring at the ceiling while he tried to get his throughs sorted out.

_:Chosen! Wake up! There are problems!:_

_:Mara? What's wrong?:_ Aeren sat up while he Mindspoke with his Companion, starting to fear the worst. _:Wait.. where's Alicia? How long has she been out of the room.: _He had a terrible feeling in his stomach. One that he never had felt before, and he had a feeling it had something to do with Alicia. Mara finally snorted and explained what was going on to the best of her ability.

_:That's what the problem is. I don't know what's going on. Corie sent out an alarm to me... trying to tell me what was going on, but an extremely powerful shield came up over him. I can't reach him at all. I got so concerned that I even tried to reach Alicia, but there's another shield blocking her as well. I can't Mindspeak either of them.: _That got Aeren out of bed and he got his boots on. He ran out of the suite and down the hall and outside. Mara had been waiting for him right at the entrance to the castle. He stood there for a moment, trying to get his thoughts straightened out before he did something rash.

"Alright.. first thing's first. We've got to find Alicia. She said she was going to go for a walk in the gardens." He quickly jumped up onto Mara's back, but before she could take off to the gardens, a large mental thought came over both of them.

_:Run! Don't go looking for Alicia. He has her now! I don't know how long I can keep this shield broken, but you must make it back to Valdemar before he takes your mind as well!:_ That did it for Mara, she turned and broke into the fastest run she could manage, with Aeren clinging to her mane and his legs around her body to hold himself on.

That was Corie's voice. It had to be. But it was something about Alicia. He tried to get Mara to turn around, but she was in control right now. She was speeding for the Velvar/Ruvan border as fast as her legs could carry her. While they ran, someone had been watching them in a mirror.

It was Belmear, and he grimaced as the other Herald and his Companion made it past the border. There was very little his men could do now. But no matter. He shut the image off and then smiled to the girl by his side. She was still completely out of it, but that was alright. She would serve his purpose very well.


	16. The Run

Mara hadn't given Aeren time to breathe until she finally crossed the border back into Ruvan. After she passed through the first couple of towns, she steered off the main road and into a light forested area. She finally slowed to a brisk walk until she found a stream to rest by. And, boy, was she tired. She had been running at top speed since she forced her Chosen onto her back and they made their getaway. That was when the speed and endurance of a Companion was most useful, after all. She looked over her shoulder at Aeren who was just barely sitting steadly on her back before she gave a light bit of a sigh and lowered her head to the cool stream to take a drink. While she was doing that, she felt him slide off her back and then move over to sit on the ground next to the stream. She drank her fill and then looked over to him, her blue eyes mingled with worry for him. Surely, he would know if something was terribly wrong with his lifemate, other than the obvious of why she had to force themselves to leave. She just watched him sit there, staring into the water for now before he reached down to wash his face a bit. He had been crying, but didn't want his Companion to see that. She let him have that before she leaned down to nuzzle at his shoulder tenderly. Of course they couldn't spend their entire time like this, otherwise they wouldn't be able to get help for Alicia, and by then it would be too late. But a little bit would be alright. She let him have some peace while she wandered around the area, snatching bites of the grass. It wouldn't completely alleviate her hunger, but it would do for now until he got all his senses back to figure out what to do. In fact, she was quite startled when he finally spoke and immediately turned to look at him.

"What happened to her, Mara? Why... did you force us out of the country?" He knew that there had to be a real reason for what she did, and he wanted to know why she did it. She snorted and then walked over to him, nuzzling him again as she Mindspoke with him.

_:It all happened rather quickly. One minute I was drowsing in that stable that we were being housed in, and the next I got an extremely urgent mindcall from Corie. I had never heard him so frazzled before. It was all very garbled, and all I really got out of it was Belmear and Alicia, and neither were in a very pleasant light. After that, he told me to snatch you up and make a break for it, while he did the same, but then I lost contact with him. So whatever happened, it's blocking any kind of mind connection I had with him. I even tried to probe for Alicia, since I knew how strong her Mindspeech is, but I couldn't even reach her. Whatever is going on over there, they've got a good hold on both of them.:_

She watched him for a bit while he seemed to try and make some sense out of what she just told him. Soon, he spoke up though, looking to her. "Well, she's still alive. I know that for sure. But a part of me is ... lost. I can't even explain it." He just sat here, trying to figure it out. She knew exactly wat it was. It was that lifebond that they had. He could feel that something was different about her, like a part of him was missing as well. She definitely wasn't dead, or else he would know it instantly. That, at least, was a little bit of a comfort to Mara. "What am I supposed to do, Mara? I was supposed to be the senior Herald on this trip, and I didn't keep my eye on her properly like I was supposed to be doing." He jumped when she snorted into his ear at that one, then looked to her as she stood up to her full height.

_:I most certainly don't want to hear anything of that sort, Aeren! You're a Herald, and it's time, now, to start acting like it! You may have not been able to help her back there, but by Havens we are going to help her now! You're going to get up and we're going to run as close to Rethwallen as we can. Once we get there, you'll be able to communicate with the Heralds in Rethwellan, who will be able to bounce your message up to Kyril and Talia. I know for a fact that Liona and her Herald is up in Rethwellan, and you know that Dustie is the strongest Farspeaker we've had in a while. If anyone can get this message up to Kyril, she can. Now get up so we can make some time before the sunsets. I have enough energy to run until sunset, but by then we will have to stop at a town for both of us to rest. I doubt that Belmear will do anything within one day, so I think we're safe enough to do that.:_

She watched as he jumped to his feet and quickly jumped onto her back. She, of course, had no saddle and no bridle. She didn't have time to get anything put onto her. All she knew is that she had to get Aeren out of Velvar, and quickly. When he was settled on her back and had enough of her mane that he wouldn't pull it out, she quickly turned on her hind hooves and started off at a full gallop again, surprising a couple of farmers that had been hauling their goods to a market somewhere. They made good time before the sun started to set, but now, she was exhausted and she had to stop. Luckily, they were coming up towards an inn. He threw a coin at the stableboy to take care of Mara, brushing her down, drying her off, getting her food and water and a comfortable place to sleep for the night. He then went into the inn and paid the innkeeper and stumbled up to the room that he had been given to fall asleep as soon as he fell down on the bed.

The next morning, Mara woke him with a rude mental shove and they were on their way as soon as the first rays of dawn came over the horizon. He had enough sense to grab one of the saddles that was there so it would be a more comfortable run for both of them, leaving coins for the innkeeper to pay for it. They started the grueling run again and just as it hit about early afternoon, Mara vaulted the bars seperating the Ruvan/Rethwellan borders. The guard on the Rethwellan side knew a Companion and a Herald since now that Valdemar had become quite the close allies since the dealings in Hardorn. Mara just stood there, panting for breath while Aeren closed his eyes in concentration and sent out a message to the closest Herald for help. He wasn't the strongest Farspeaker in the kingdom, but he had enough of the ability to make it to the closest Herald near them. Luckily, he got Dustie and she went to pass the message back up to Haven and to Kyril. When it was sent, he sat down on the grass, having a major reaction-headache now. He had to really stretch his ability just to make it that far. Mara watched him and then she laid down in the grass next to him. All they would have to do is wait for the response.

_In Velvar_

Belmear had watched the other Companion streaking away in one of his mirrors. He was annoyed by this, but he had part of what he wanted. With the girl's help, he would be able to take Valdemar. He had let her keep the suite that had been assigned to her and the other Herald, but since her mind was blocked off from her Companion and from the other Heralds, then she wouldn't be much danger to him. He crossed his arms and then turned around to look to Darac. "Is the Herald in her room?" His aide nodded slowly, his hands behind his back for the moment. He then nodded and dropped his arms and then moved around to sit behind his desk. He then started to do his work as he normally would, giving Darac some of his usual workload.

After almost an hour, Belmear looked up to him again and motioned him to the seat on the other side of the desk. After a quiet moment, he finally spoke up. "The first thing we need to do is bring our little Herald back to her senses." Darac nodded, leaning back and crossing his right leg over the other, folding his hands together, while he listened to his King let him in on his plan. "The only thing we have to make sure of is that we keep her bonds with her Companion and that Herald of hers blocked. Those bonds are the strongest in her mind. The other bond in her mind that I found was the bond I found that was still connected to her homeland. The foolish girl actually thought that we came from her homes." He chuckled at that.

Darac smiled and nodded a bit as he returned the thought. "Indeed, my lord. It was brilliant of you to put an illusion on those sheep and _chirras_."

Belmear nodded and leaned back in his chair and watched him in thought for a moment. "I think that as long as you can keep the bonds blacked out on her we'll be able to pull this off." Darac looked shocked and then looks to Belmear with the surprised look on his face. Belmear had to laugh at his reaction and then sat back in his chair again, resting his pen on the table. You don't need to speak, Darac. I can see the question on your face. Of course I intended for you to do the blocking. For one thing, I have much more important things to take care of with my abilities. Next to me, you're the next strongest mind blocker in the kingdom. While we have her under our control, the illusions will remain on the animals."

Darac sighed and then nodded slowly to him. "Yes, your majesty." He made sure that Belmear was done with him before standing and then moving out of his office. He wasn't sure how he was going to keep the blocks up, but he knew that he had to, otherwise his king would block him, with his head laying on it and an axe above it.


	17. Trapped

_My head feels like it's been in a vice for a month._ That was Alicia, her thoughts on her headache. She was laying in her bed, trying to nurse it, but as she opened her eyes, she immediately sat up, looking around the room. Then it wasn't a nightmare. She was still in Velvar, and from the looks of things, Aeren definitely wasn't here. She slowly got out of the bed, stumbling a little bit as she wandered to the bathing room. She looked down at the basin as she poured water into it. She stared down at her reflection for the moment, noticing that her face looked very tired, so to speak. She had circles under her eyes, making it look like she hadn't slept in a week. She shakes her head and then splashed her face with the cold water before taking the towel nearby and rubbing her face with it, wishing she could wipe away the look on her face. When she was done, she headed out to the living room, looking around a bit. Aeren's stuff was still here, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. She carefully reached out with her mind to try and touch Aeren's as they had done with each other in the past. The moment she tried to reach beyond her own mind, she yelped, feeling herself shaking with pain and she fell to the floor, sitting down on it, leaning against the doorway. She had never felt pain like this before. She only had a couple of months in the training of her Mindspeech, but she had never felt anything like this before, so she didn't know what it could be. She looked up as she heard the door opening and slowly pushed herself to her feet, using the doorframe for support. She remained where she was, narrowing her eyes as she looked into the amused visage of Darac. She knew that something didn't seem right about him, and if she had attempted to figure out what it was, maybe she wouldn't be here now. He just closed the door behind him as she stood there, watching him walk in and make himself at home. Apparently, a cart had been wheeled in with some breakfast on it. She just didn't notice it till now when he lifted the lid of a plate of food and helped himself to a piece of the sausage. He then moved around and sat on the couch, watching her, before patting the seat next to him. She remained where she was and he chuckled.

"You're a funny thing, Herald Alicia. I come here to show our hospitality and offer to take you outside to clear your head and you just stand there, quite afraid of me." She was confused and really didn't know how to react.

"Take me outside? Aren't I your prisoner?" Darac threw his head back and laughed at her. She wanted to know, now, what was so funny.

"Oh, you're a funny child. If you were our prisoner, you'd be down in the dungeon in the hands of the guards, and believe you me, they've had little amusement lately. No, you're just as you were before, King Belmear's guest. You're still in your original suite, I had a servant bring you up a breakfast complete with a headache powder." She watched him curiously, wondering how he knew she had a massive headache as she slowly moved over to the cart, noticing the powder before looking back to him. He had watched her move. "I'm not going to keep secrets from you, Herald. I've been keeping a shield over your mind. And yes, it's to keep you from contacting the other Valdemarans as well as communicate with your Companion."

She furrowed her brows, looking to him as she mixed the powder in the glass of water that had been brought up as well, drinking it down. She felt her headache start to clear before she looked back to him again to ask her question. "So Corie is still alive?"

Darac chuckled at her again. Oh how amusing this girl was to him. "Of course he's still alive. Between you and Herald Aeren, I've had enough of an education about Heralds and their Companions. We knew that if we killed your Companion, you would be following in no time. You're more use to us alive."

"Use? What kind of use?" She watched him suspiciously.

"Here. Let me tell you the deal. You're going to help us conquer Valdemar. And my lord is more than willing to send you back to your real home. He can even alter your memories so that you don't have bad dreams about leaving this place at night. He can keep your gifts blocked so that they never surface to bother you anymore. You can return to your family, your wonderful job, and the man who, I'm sure, would have ended up being your husband."

Alicia stood there, staring at home. How could he know about Allan. She just stood there, watching him. Darac stood up and then shook his head. "You don't have to answer, right away, dear. No one from Valdemar will be here for a couple weeks at the most, no matter how fast their Companions run. So come on. Have some breakfast. It'll help your head to feel better and I'll take you to the stables to visit your dear Companion."

She bit her lip and looks down to the food and shakes her head. "I'm not hungry. I want to see Corie now." Darac shrugged and stood up, offering his arm to her. She didn't take it, but was glad that she was still dressed in her whites, never mind them being a little wrinkled. She remembered her Fetching teacher, Herald Dirk, sometimes being just as wrinkled with his clothes. He did open the door for her and she followed him out, looking around. The servants were watching her with what seemed to be fear. She didn't say anything, but followed him out to the stables.

He took her back to a side portion of the stables to where a single stall was. She looked in and gasped, running over to it. There was Corie, in the stall. The stall was kept locked in such a way that Corie couldn't lean out to unlock and open it. Then as an added precaution, they had a rope around his neck and connected to a ring in the wall. He couldn't even slip out of it as it was knotted quite tightly on him. She ran over to the stall and he reached out with a small whinny to her hands as she hugs his muzzle softly. She couldn't feel his comforting presense in the back of her mind like she usually did. She heard footsteps and turned to see Darac walking to the main portion of the stables. She sighed and fumbled with the knot in the rope, but even she couldn't get it out. She then looked around for something sharp to cut it with. There was nothing. She wondered why Corie just didn't turn his head and chew through it. But neither of them could sense each other's thoughts, so he had no idea what she was thinking. Instead, she tried to speak to him.

"Corie.. why don't you chew through the rope and jump the stall door?" The Companion shook his head, slapping her lightly with his mane. She frowned a bit, petting his muzzle softly. That must mean that he couldn't, but she had no idea why not. She just didn't know enough of this country, or even this world to figure out why. She just stood there, taking comfort in being with him at least. She shook her head, sniffling softly and burying her face into his neck a bit while he reached out to nuzzle her as comfortingly as he could. "It's my fault, Corie. I should have done something about my suspicions about Darac when I first started to have them."

He wanted more than anything to reach out with his mind and wrap it around hers in a mental hug, but as he tried, there was that thick shield again. It was not of her doing, so it had to be either Darac or Belmear that was doing it. He just nuzzled into her neck, face, and hair to try and give her as much physical comfort as she could. After a few minutes, Darac came back in and gently pulled at Alicia's elbow to try and get her to go with him. Corie made a sound similar to a growl and snapped his teeth at him, but Darac had pulled back before he got close enough.

Darac chuckled as he pulled Alicia back before her Companion could do him any harm and he gently swept her out of the stables. "Of course you can come back later on, but for now, King Belmear would like to speak to you." She frowned and looked over her should back to Corie again. She sighed softly and had no choice but to follow him out. Corie watched as he led her out of the stables, and the only thing he could think to himself was that he hoped Aeren and Mara could bring help and quickly.


	18. Intermission from the author

Hello all. I know I haven't even looked at this fic in about 2 and a half years. I've had some bad times come over me and I left the fanficion world. I recently rediscovered it and was checking out my incomplete stories, including this one. Between the fact that I had some real life problems that I had to deal with and I got a little disheartened at a few of the reviews. I understand the reviews are there to help one improve their stories, but let me tell you all a few things about myself.

I was a biology major in school. So it's what I know, hence why Alicia was a biochemist. I never said she wouldn't use it, I just haven't incorporated it into the story, at least not at this point. I was never good in English in school. I took a creative writing course my senior year in high school to try and help myself improve with my writings, but as you can tell by my writing, it didn't help much. It's not that I don't want to try.. it's just that, I can't think of impressive ways to write. I don't plan out my stories before I write them. I don't brainstorm. I just open up wordpad and.. type away. Sometimes it comes out better than I had hoped.. sometimes not...sometimes I leave wordpad open all day just to think of something to write so the chapter doesn't seem too short. I apologize about my stupid methods.

I do understand a few aspects of the books itself between keeping mages out of the country and how the instructors are at the collegium, but I wanted to get Alicia out of the capital and out into the world. So yes, I made it seem like she went too fast, especially with weaponswork, but I never said she was perfect. When an evil king wants to take over another country, they certainly don't want to wait a year or however long it was needed for the main character to become exceptional with a weapon.. at least from a fic point of view. Also, it's true that the protection of Valdemar makes it uncomfortable for mages, but if you recall.. Hulda didn't seem to have a problem in the Heralds of Valdemar series. So the way I see it, mages can shield themselves, if they know how.

I do appreciate the reviews, cause it tells me that people are reading my story, which is nice to know, but sometimes when people point out to me stupid mistakes or something that doesn't make sense at first, it disheartens me and makes me think that I shouldn't be writing at all... I don't have a very good self-esteem when it comes to my writings. I want to get myself back into this fic again, as I do adore Mercedes Lackey's books about Valdemar (The sequel to Foundation coming out in a few months, after all! Woot!), but I need to undo the block in my head and start thinking about what I want the evil king to do again. I started a Captain Planet fanfic because I rediscovered that show and want to delve into the fic portion of it a bit. It's not as in depth as this one was turning out to be, but it's getting me slowly back into the fanfiction world. So, soon, there will finally be updates to this one.

Oh.. and thank you all for reading this.


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